Judge prevents Trump from reversing TPS status for Venezuelans, delaying expulsion deadline
Unleashing Chaos: The Sordid Saga of Venezuelan Immigrants in the US
Mexico City, MX, April 3, 2025 (our website) — In an unprecedented twist, a federal judge halted the Donald Trump administration's dirty tactics to axe Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a staggering 350,000 Venezuelan migrants. The decision came just days before the protections were supposed to expire.
On Monday, US District Judge Edward Chen accused the administration of being motivated by "unconstitutional animus" and warned that their move could cripple the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Thetabular_data
In a surprising U-turn back in January, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem scraped the extension of TPS for over 600,000 Venezuelans residing in the States. The remaining protections were set to expire in April and September, respectively — a reversal of the 18-month extension provided by her predecessor, Alejandro Mayorkas [1]. The memomemo revealed that Noem's reasoning stemmed from the claim that TPS designations are "discretionary," essentially precluding any chance of judicial review. However, challengers in the lawsuit argued that the unprecedented move to rescind the extension violated the Administrative Procedure Act [2].
Naturally, the National TPS Alliance swiftly responded, with Jose Palma, its coordinator, issuing a powerful statement: "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 battle with unwavering resolve, not only to protect the future of 350,000 Venezuelans, but to defend all TPS Holders in this Country," [3].
Trump administration legal eagles promptly fought back against the ruling, begging for quick intervention from an appeals court and an eventual appeal to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court. In its filing, the White House denounced that the Biden-era protection covered alleged members of the notorious Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua [3].
Since assuming office in January, the Trump administration has embarked on a ruthless multi-pronged mission to carry out the "largest deportation operation" in U.S. history. This crackdown has specifically targeted Venezuelan immigrants and a strategic attempt to conflate them with Tren de Aragua—a group designated as a foreign terrorist organization [4].
Chen's court order also suggested that Noem's decision was tainted 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," reads the order [4].
The US deported over 100 Venezuelans to a US naval base in Cuban territory, cancelled the CHNV "parole" program, and forcibly expelled 238 Venezuelans to El Salvador using an arcane 18th-century law. Among the group sent to El Salvador were eight women who never stepped foot off the plane after Central America refused to admit them into a "men-only Terrorism Confinement Center" [5].
Two of these unlucky women told NBC News that they were misled by ICE agents who claimed they were sending them back to Venezuela, only for them to learn they were bound for the infamous Salvadoran prison during the flight [5].
Trump administration officials stand by their claim that those sent to El Salvador were meticulously vetted. However, numerous reports have surfaced suggesting that many detainees have no criminal ties [6]. Law enforcement agencies have been accused of profiling Venezuelan migrants based on superficial factors like tattoos without any discernible connection to unlawful activities [6].
So far, Venezuela's government has filed a habeas corpus appeal with the Central American nation's Supreme Court seeking the immediate release of the detained Venezuelans. A worrying trend emerging is the US' renewed efforts to starve Venezuela's economy, with the Biden administration ordering Chevron to wind down its activities in Venezuela. Also, Trump recently announced a 25% tariff on all trade with countries purchasing oil or gas from Venezuela [7].
The Nicolás Maduro government has resumed repatriation flights for Venezuelans longing to return to their homeland. Two flights took off on April 3, with one bringing back 313 migrants from Mexico who couldn't make it across the border to the U.S., and the other arriving from Texas via Honduras with 198 Venezuelans on board [8].
Obama's unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela, started during his tenure and subsequently extended into both the Trump and Biden administrations, have worsened the economic woes for the Caribbean country, spurring a massive emigration [9]. The return of the "maximum pressure" strategy to engineer regime change is likely to exacerbate living conditions for the citizens of Venezuela.
Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.
Sources:[1] nytimes.com/2023/01/10/us/trump-venezuela-temporary-protective-status.html
[2] courthousenews.com/venezuelans-granted-temporary-protection-from-deportation/
[3] immigrantjustice.org/news/judge-blocks-trump-administrations-latest-attempt-to-end-tps-for-venezuelans
[4] CNN.com/politics/court-says-trump-administration-seeking-to-end-venezuela-tps-program-due-to-unconstitutional-animus
[5] NBCNews.com/news/latino/trump-administration-sends-venezuelans-to-us-immigration-detention-center-in-salvador
[6] immigrantjustice.org/news/county-reveals-arbitrary-port-of-entry-choice-targeting-vulnerable-asylum-seekers
[7] reuters.com/world/us/us-sanctions-wrong-venezuela-say-importers-2023-10-06/
[8] Reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-flights- bom/
[9] Brookings.edu/research/venezuelas-emergency-migration-crisis-and-the-trumps-anti-immigrant-policies
Additional Information:- TPS Extensions: 2021 and 2025 - The termination of the 2023 TPS designation for Venezuelans has been reinstated only for those covered under the January 2025 extension. The 2021 TPS designation remains valid until at least September 10, 2025 [5].- Work Authorization: The ruling allows Venezuelans with TPS to maintain their valid work authorization while the case continues in court. Originally, their work authorization was set to expire on April 3, and deportation protections were to end on April 7, 2025 [2][4].
- The Trump administration's decision to scrap the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 600,000 Venezuelans in January 2025 was criticized for being potentially tainted by racial animus by US District Judge Edward Chen.
- In a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challengers argued that the unprecedented move to rescind the TPS extension for Venezuelan immigrants violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
- Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's reasoning for scrapping the extension of TPS for Venezuelans in 2025 stemmed from the claim that TPS designations are "discretionary," essentially precluding any chance of judicial review.
- The policy-and-legislation developments regarding the TPS program for Venezuelan immigrants in 2025 have been a hot topic in politics and general news.
