Supreme Court Lets Trump End Protected Status for Venezuelans

The US Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump's administration to end temporary protected status that was granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the US by his predecessor Joe Biden, as the Republican President moves to ramp up deportations as part of his hardline approach to immigration.

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WASHINGTON -

The court on May 19 granted the Justice Department's request to lift a judge's order that had halted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's decision to terminate deportation protection conferred on Venezuelans under the temporary protected status, or TPS, program while the administration pursues an appeal in the case.

The program is a humanitarian designation under US law for countries stricken by war, natural disaster or other catastrophes, giving recipients living in the US deportation protection and access to work permits. The US homeland security secretary can renew the designation.

May 19's brief order from the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, was unsigned, as is typical when it acts on an emergency request. Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole justice to publicly dissent.

The court left open the door to challenges by migrants if Mr Trump's administration tries to cancel work permits or other TPS-related documents that were issued to expire in October 2026, the end of the TPS period extended by Mr Biden. The Department of Homeland Security has said about 348,202 Venezuelans were registered under Mr Biden's 2023 TPS designation.

May 19's action came in a legal challenge by plaintiffs including some TPS recipients and the National TPS Alliance advocacy group.