Judge Blocks Trump Effort to Revoke TPS for Venezuelans as Deadline Loomed

Mexico City, Mexico, April 3, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – A federal judge blocked the Donald Trump administration’s attempt to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 350,000 Venezuelan migrants only days before protections were set to expire. 

On Monday, ​​US District Judge Edward Chen described the effort to reverse protections granted by the Biden administration as being “motivated by unconstitutional animus” and warned the move could “inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands of persons whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted.”

In January US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revoked the extension of Temporary Protected Status for the more than 600,000 Venezuelans currently in the United States, with protection set to expire for one group set to expire this month and the remainder in September. Noem’s move was a reversal of the 18-month extension provided to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans by her predecessor Alejandro Mayorkas during his final days in office.

At the time, Noem’s memo had argued that since TPS designations are “discretionary” there would be no opportunity for a judicial review. However, plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging the administration’s decision stated that the unprecedented move to rescind the extension constituted a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Today’s victory is not just a legal win, but a testament to the strength of the TPS community and all who fight alongside us. We will continue this fight with unwavering resolve, not only to protect the future of 350,000 Venezuelans, but to defend all TPS Holders in this Country,” said Jose Palma, coordinator of the National TPS Alliance, in a statement. 

Trump administration lawyers immediately pushed back against the ruling, seeking for the matter to be addressed on an emergency basis by an appeals court, with an eye for an eventual appeal to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. In its filing, the White House said the Biden-era protection covered alleged members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. 

Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has set out on a multi-pronged campaign to carry out what it calls the “largest deportation operation” in US history, with a number of actions specifically targeting the Venezuelan population inside the country and a deliberate effort to conflate Venezuelan migrants with Tren de Aragua, a group designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Chen’s court order also suggested that Noem’s decision was motivated by racial animus.  

“Generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism predicated on generalized false stereotypes,” read the order.

The US sent more than 100 Venezuelans to a US naval base in occupied Cuban territory, canceled the so-called CHNV “parole” program that allowed Venezuelans to legally stay in US territory, and forcibly expelled 238 Venezuelans to El Salvador using an arcane 18th-century law.

Among the group sent to El Salvador were reportedly eight women who never deplaned after the Central American country refused to take them into the men-only “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) where the migrants were destined.

Two of the women told NBC News that they were misled by ICE agents, who allegedly told them they were being sent to Venezuela—only for them to discover mid-flight they were bound for the notorious Salvadoran prison.

Trump administration officials maintain that those sent to El Salvador were carefully vetted. However, numerous reports have emerged that many of those currently being held have no criminal ties. Law enforcement agencies have been found to profile Venezuelan migrants based on elements such as tattoos, but without establishing any connection to unlawful activities.

The Nicolás Maduro government has filed a habeas corpus appeal before the Central American nation’s Supreme Court seeking their immediate release. In the face of mistreatment at the hands of the US government, Venezuela has resumed repatriation flights for Venezuelans seeking to return to the country. 

Two flights landed in Venezuela Thursday, the first brought back 313 migrants from Mexico who had not managed to cross the border to the US, while the second arrived from Texas via Honduras, bringing back 198 Venezuelans. Caracas had briefly paused flights after the US ordered Chevron to wind down its activities in Venezuela as part of its efforts to strangle the Venezuelan economy. Trump also recently announced that the US would impose a 25 percent tariff on all trade with countries purchasing oil or gas from Venezuela. 

US unilateral coercive measures applied against Venezuela by President Barack Obama, and extended into both the Trump and Biden administrations, have caused serious economic challenges for the Caribbean country, leading to a large emigration of people. A DHS press statement issued at the time TPS was extended justified the move due to “extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent eligible Venezuelan nationals from safely returning.” 

While the country has experienced a modest economic recovery since 2021, the return of the “maximum pressure” strategy to pursue regime change is likely to aggravate living conditions in the Caribbean nation.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.