Thread: Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS To Strip Legal Protections From 350K Venezuelan Migrants

US News

Trump administration asks SCOTUS to strip legal protections from 350K Venezuelan migrants after Obama-appointed judge put hold on plan

By Associated Press
Published May 1, 2025, 6:04 p.m. ET
123 Comments

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported.

The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month.

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President Donald Trump gestures as he walks from the Oval Office to depart on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Washington.AP

The status allows people already in the United States to live and work legally because their native countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.

A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration’s request.

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Venezuelan migrants wait inside a plane as they arrive on a flight, after being deported from the United States.via REUTERS

The protections had been set to expire April 7, but U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ordered a pause on those plans. He found that the expiration threatened to severely disrupt the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and could cost billions in lost economic activity.

Chen, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, found the government hadn’t shown any harm caused by keeping the program alive.

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A general view of the Supreme Court building located at 1 First Street NE in Washington, DC on April 15, 2025.Christopher Sadowski

But Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on behalf of the administration that Chen’s order impermissibly interferes with the administration’s power over immigration and foreign affairs.

In addition, Sauer told the justices, people affected by ending the protected status might have other legal options to try to remain in the country because the “decision to terminate TPS is not equivalent to a final removal order.”

Congress created TPS in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strip legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelan migrants