Washington, DC – The United States Supreme Court has enabled the administration of President Donald Trump to revoke the protected immigration status of about 350,000 Venezuelans.
The top court’s justices issued a brief order on Monday, granting the administration’s request for lifting the suspension that had been placed by a lower court in March.
In February, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated a 2023 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuelans that had been issued by the administration of former President Joe Biden.
TPS is a programme that shields noncitizens already in the US on a temporary basis from deportation and allows them to seek a work permit if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deems their home country to be unsafe to return to.
Millions of people have fled Venezuela in recent years due to political repression and a crippling economic crisis spurred in part by US sanctions against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
The Supreme Court did not elaborate on why it sided with the Trump administration on Monday. The ruling simply added that liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson “would deny” the government’s request.
The DHS had argued that TPS designations are not subject to judicial review.
Noem had declared the 2023 designation for Venezuela “contrary to the national interest”, citing gang membership and “adverse effects on US workers”. However, she kept a previous TPS issued for Venezuelans in place.
DHS welcomed the ruling on Monday, saying without evidence that the Biden administration granted TPS to “gang members” and “known terrorists and murderers”.
“The Trump Administration is reinstituting integrity into our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe,” the agency said in a social media post.
Several Democrats described the push to deport Venezuelans – part of a border immigration crackdown – as cruel, rejecting the Trump administration’s allegation that people under the TPS designation are criminals and “terrorists”.
“Venezuelans face extreme oppression, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings and torture,” Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said in a statement.
“Poverty levels are surging, and essentials like electricity, water and medical care are scarce. The dire circumstances in Venezuela make it clear that this is exactly the type of situation that requires the government to provide TPS.”
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