- “Today’s ruling is a huge win–not just for the rule of law but also for hundreds of thousands of hard-working people who have suffered a lot of harm due to this administration’s illegal attempts to revoke humanitarian protection for Venezuelans.” – Cecilia Gonzalez, Venezuelan TPS holder
By Vanguard Staff
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s unprecedented attempt to strip Temporary Protected Status from Venezuelans and Haitians was unlawful, restoring protections for more than one million people and dealing a significant blow to one of the administration’s most aggressive immigration policies.
In a 69-page ruling issued Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen concluded that the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded its authority, acted arbitrarily and capriciously, and failed to follow legally required procedures when it moved in early 2025 to cancel TPS designations. The decision restores protections and work authorization for Venezuelan and Haitian nationals who had been at risk of losing status despite ongoing instability and violence in their home countries.
Chen emphasized that for 35 years, administrations of both parties had carried out the TPS statute as written, consulting with the State Department and other agencies before making determinations. That process was upended, he said, when the Trump administration moved “post haste” to revoke extensions already granted.
“For 35 years, the TPS statute has been faithfully executed by presidential administrations from both parties, affording relief based on the best available information obtained by the Department of Homeland Security in consultation with the State Department and other agencies, a process that involves careful study and analysis. Until now,” Chen wrote. “This case arose from action taken post haste by the current DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, to revoke the legal status of Venezuelan and Haitian TPS holders, sending them back to conditions that are so dangerous that even the State Department advises against travel to their home countries.”
The ruling invalidates DHS’s decisions to vacate and terminate extensions previously granted by Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in late 2023 and early 2025, which had ensured Venezuelan TPS holders work permits and protection from deportation through October 2026. Haitian TPS holders, whose status was extended and redesignated by Mayorkas in 2024, had also been abruptly cut off. The court restored the January 17, 2025 extension of Venezuela’s TPS designation, meaning Venezuelans who qualify but have not yet re-registered must do so by September 10, 2025.
The case, National TPS Alliance v. Noem, was brought by the National TPS Alliance, Haitian Bridge Alliance, and individual TPS holders after the Trump administration moved to vacate Mayorkas’s orders just days after taking office. DHS officials began drafting the rescission for Venezuela before Noem was even confirmed as secretary, the court noted. Within days of her swearing-in, she signed off on the termination without a meaningful review of country conditions or the consultation required under federal law.
The judge described the process as rushed and politically driven. The Department of State provided no updated country conditions report before DHS moved to vacate Venezuela’s extension, instead relying on documents from the prior administration that had supported extending protections. In Haiti’s case, DHS shortened an 18-month redesignation to 12 months without justification, then moved to end TPS altogether in July 2025.
Plaintiffs and advocates celebrated the decision as a major vindication of the law and of the humanitarian purpose of TPS. “Today’s ruling is a huge win–not just for the rule of law but also for hundreds of thousands of hard-working people who have suffered a lot of harm due to this administration’s illegal attempts to revoke humanitarian protection for Venezuelans,” said Cecilia Gonzalez, a Venezuelan TPS holder from Florida. “Members of our community have lost jobs, been detained and deported, and been separated from their families. I am relieved that this ruling will restore TPS protections, and hope that those protections remain in place under this righteous order. This is a clear example that, at the end of the day, justice always prevails.”
Another plaintiff, identified in court records as G.S., said, “I am happy and relieved that the Court has said that the government cannot take away the protections that were in place for Haitian and Venezuelan TPS holders. I was working as a physician in Haiti, but I had to leave because it was so dangerous there. TPS is an important program that allows people like me to contribute to this country while living in safety. It should not end.”
Francis, a Honduran TPS holder and member of the National TPS Alliance, said the victory has broader implications. “Today we are all Venezuelans and Haitians. We are proud to celebrate this victory, because this is our fight. Our struggle continues and we will not stop until we have our permanent residency.”
Legal advocates said the administration’s actions were part of a larger effort to dismantle immigrant protections. “Since taking office, the Trump Administration has been systematically de-documenting lawful immigrants, spreading fear and chaos by stripping people of their immigration status and work authorization in unprecedented ways and on little to no notice,” said Jessica Bansal, TPS counsel with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “Today’s decision affirms that—as to the more than one million Venezuelans and Haitians protected by the Temporary Protected Status program—the Administration’s actions are not only wrong, they are illegal.”
Emi MacLean, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, said the decision exposed the unlawful nature of the administration’s approach. “Today, the trial court recognized what has been clear from day one—the Trump administration acted illegally in stripping hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians of humanitarian protected status. 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. That must end now.”
Ahilan Arulanantham, faculty co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, said the ruling was both significant and bittersweet. “This ruling provides immediate relief to several hundred thousand Venezuelans who should not have been subjected to this lawless policy in the first place. Sadly, today’s ruling comes too late for many Venezuelans who were detained and deported under that policy because the Supreme Court allowed it to take effect without giving any reasons. We are hopeful the rule of law will now prevail.”
Erik Crew, staff attorney with Haitian Bridge Alliance, called the ruling a reprieve but warned that many lives remain at risk. “While harm already done cannot be undone, we hope today’s ruling can give some reprieve to over a million people whose lives have continued to be threatened by this extreme administration. We will continue this fight for basic human dignity, the rule of law, and the integrity of the United States, and we encourage all Venezuelan TPS holders who have not already re-registered to do so now.”
The court’s findings went beyond the specific cases of Venezuela and Haiti, underscoring that DHS cannot vacate prior extensions at will. For three decades, TPS had provided protection to nationals from countries ravaged by conflict, disaster, or political instability. The statute, enacted in 1990, was designed to insulate humanitarian relief from electoral politics. The Trump administration’s attempt to retroactively undo extensions was, according to Chen, without precedent and without legal basis.
The ruling comes after months of legal whiplash. Earlier this year, the Ninth Circuit declined to halt Chen’s postponement of the terminations, but the Supreme Court later allowed DHS’s policies to take effect temporarily. That decision forced thousands of TPS holders into uncertainty and led to job losses, detentions, and deportations before Chen’s ruling restored protections.
Immigration advocates said the decision highlights the importance of judicial oversight in the face of executive overreach. They also signaled they will continue to push for permanent solutions. The National TPS Alliance has long argued that Congress must create a pathway to permanent residency for TPS holders who have built lives in the United States over decades.
“This ruling is an important step,” Francis of the National TPS Alliance said, “but our struggle continues.”
The plaintiffs were represented by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the ACLU Foundations of Northern and Southern California, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, and the Haitian Bridge Alliance.
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