Marble facade of the Supreme Court of Justice in Washington, D.C., the highest judicial authority in the United States, where the fate of laws and fundamental rights is decided. Photograph: Archive.
Guacamaya, May 19, 2025. The United States Supreme Court authorized the administration of President Donald Trump on Monday to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Venezuelans residing in the country. This decision allows federal authorities to proceed with the cancellation of a program that had granted legal protection and temporary work permits to Venezuelan migrants.
TPS protects individuals from countries affected by severe circumstances such as conflicts or natural disasters. It allows them to avoid deportation and work legally in the United States for renewable periods of up to 18 months. The last extension was granted in January, just before Trump took office, with its expiration scheduled for October 2026.
However, in February of this year, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem attempted to reverse this designation for Venezuela, which would have led to these protections expiring in 2025. A federal judge in California temporarily blocked this revocation, arguing that ending TPS would cause irreparable harm to beneficiaries and their families.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court granted an emergency request filed by the Trump administration to lift the judicial order and allow the revocation to proceed. Legal proceedings continue in lower courts, keeping the possibility of new judicial rulings on the matter open.
The Trump administration has justified the measure by arguing that TPS for Venezuelans contradicted national interest and that immigration policy decisions should be prerogatives of the executive branch without judicial interference. With this ruling, approximately 350,000 Venezuelans protected under TPS are now at risk of deportation.
It is worth noting that while TPS for Venezuelans is in jeopardy, the White House has maintained protections for other nationalities, such as Salvadorans, who have held this status for more than two decades. This decision marks a new chapter in U.S. immigration policy regarding Venezuela amid an ongoing debate over migration management.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
