Judge blocks Trump administration's ending of legal protections for 1.1M
Venezuelans and Haitians
[September 06, 2025]
By JANIE HAR
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump
administration from ending temporary legal protections that have granted
more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela the right to live
and work in the United States.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco for the
plaintiffs means 600,000 Venezuelans whose temporary protections expired
in April or whose protections were about to expire Sept. 10 have status
to stay and work in the United States. It also keeps protections for
about 500,000 Haitians.
Chen scolded Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for revoking
protections for Venezuelans and Haitians that the judge said would send
them “back to conditions that are so dangerous that even the State
Department advises against travel to their home countries.”
He said Noem's actions were arbitrary and capricious, and she exceeded
her authority in ending protections that were extended by the Biden
administration.
Presidential administrations have executed the law for 35 years based on
the best available information and in consultation with other agencies,
“a process that involves careful study and analysis. Until now," Chen
wrote.
Plaintiffs and their attorneys welcomed the news Friday, although it's
unclear if it would help people who have already been deported.
“In recent months, people have suffered unspeakable harm — including
deportation and family separation — due to the Supreme Court
greenlighting Secretary Noem’s discriminatory and harmful agenda," said
Emi Maclean, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern
California. "That must end now.”
A DHS spokesperson said in an email that the program has been “abused,
exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program” and that
“unelected activist judges” cannot stop the American people's desire for
a secure country.
“While this order delays justice, Secretary Noem will use every legal
option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the
safety of Americans," the email read.
The second Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has resulted
in ramped-up arrests of people in the country illegally, but also an end
to programs that offer legal yet temporary authorization to live and
work in the U.S. if conditions in immigrants’ homelands are deemed
unsafe.
According to court documents, the administration has terminated
Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, and Humanitarian Parole designations
for about 1.5 million people, prompting lawsuits across the country from
immigrant advocates.
Temporary Protected Status is a designation that can be granted by the
Homeland Security secretary to people in the United States, if
conditions in their homelands are deemed unsafe for return due to a
natural disaster, political instability or other dangerous conditions.
Millions of Venezuelans have fled political unrest, mass unemployment
and hunger. The country is mired in a prolonged crisis brought on by
years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement
and an ineffectual government.
Haiti was first designated for TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic
magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of
people, and left more than 1 million homeless. Haitians face widespread
hunger and gang violence.
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Employees work inside a franchise of "Sabor Venezolano," one of 18
businesses owned by Wilmer Escaray which employ scores of Venezuelan
immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in Doral, Fla., May
20, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
Their designations were to expire in September but later extended
until February, due to a separate court order out of New York.
Noem said that conditions in both Haiti and Venezuela had improved
and that it was not in the national interest to allow migrants from
the countries to stay on for what is a temporary program. Attorneys
for the government have said the secretary’s clear and broad
authority to make determinations related to the TPS program are not
subject to judicial review.
Designations are granted for terms of six, twelve or 18 months, and
extensions can be granted so long as conditions remain dire. The
status prevents holders from being deported and allows them to work.
The secretary’s action in revoking TPS was not only unprecedented in
the manner and speed in which it was taken but also violated the
law, Chen wrote.
The case has had numerous legal twists, including an appeal to the
U.S. Supreme Court.
In March, Chen temporarily paused the administration’s plans to end
TPS for people from Venezuela. An estimated 350,000 Venezuelans were
set to lose protections the following month.
But the U.S. Supreme Court in May reversed his order while the
lawsuit played out. The justices provided no rationale, which is
common in emergency appeals, and did not rule on the merits of the
case.
Venezuelans with expired protections were fired from jobs, separated
from children, detained by officers and even deported, lawyers for
TPS holders said.
A court declaration provided by plaintiffs showed the turmoil caused
by the Trump administration and the Supreme Court decision.
After appearing for her annual immigration check-in, a restaurant
hostess living in Indiana was deported back to Venezuela in July.
Her husband, a construction company supervisor, cannot work and care
for their baby daughter at the same time.
In June, a FedEx employee appeared in uniform at his required
immigration check-in only to be detained, the court declaration
states. He slept for about two weeks on a floor, terrified he would
be sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. His wife cannot
maintain the household on her earnings.
“I am not a criminal,” he said in the declaration, adding that
“immigrants like myself come to the United States to work hard and
contribute, and instead our families and lives are being torn
apart.”
The Supreme Court’s reversal does not apply to Friday’s ruling. The
government is expected to appeal.
Last week, a three-judge appeals panel also sided with plaintiffs,
saying the Republican administration did not have the authority to
vacate protection extensions granted by the previous administration.
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