SCOUTS Allows Trump to End Venezuelans Deportation Protection/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to end temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelans. The decision affects over 348,000 migrants now vulnerable to deportation. Migrants and advocacy groups reacted with fear and disappointment.
Venezuelan TPS Ruling Quick Looks
- Supreme Court lifts order blocking Trump’s end to TPS for Venezuelans.
- Decision affects over 348,000 Venezuelan TPS holders nationwide.
- Biden granted protection in 2021 and extended it in 2023.
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded Biden’s extension.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the lone dissenter.
- Court left open future legal challenges for TPS-related documents.
- Migrants express fear, say return to Venezuela would be dangerous.
- Federal judge previously ruled the rescission violated U.S. law.
- Administration accused TPS holders of gang ties, sparking outrage.
- Supreme Court ruling follows similar TPS cuts for Afghans, Cameroonians.
Deep Look: Supreme Court Permits Trump to Revoke Deportation Protections for 348,000 Venezuelans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — May 20, 2025 — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants, marking one of the most sweeping immigration rollbacks in modern American history.
The decision lifts a lower court injunction that had paused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s move to end TPS protections granted under President Joe Biden in 2021 and extended in 2023. More than 348,000 Venezuelans currently hold this status, which shields them from deportation and allows them to legally work in the U.S.
Trump Administration Expands Deportation Powers
The ruling underscores Trump’s commitment to aggressively reshaping immigration policy, especially as he enters his second term with a promise to deport record numbers of undocumented migrants.
A brief, unsigned order by the Supreme Court — which holds a 6-3 conservative majority — granted an emergency appeal by the Justice Department, allowing the TPS termination to proceed while litigation continues.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole dissenter, expressing concern over the humanitarian implications of the ruling.
Legal and Political Fallout
The TPS program, created by Congress in 1990, is designed to offer deportation relief and work authorization to nationals from countries facing war, natural disasters, or severe instability. It is a discretionary authority vested in the Department of Homeland Security.
Advocates were quick to condemn the court’s ruling.
“This is the largest single action stripping any group of non-citizens of immigration status in modern U.S. history,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, a UCLA immigration law professor involved in the lawsuit. “The Supreme Court authorized it in a two-paragraph order with no reasoning. It’s truly shocking.”
Migrants React With Fear, Uncertainty
Many TPS holders expressed heartbreak and anxiety following the announcement.
“We’re defenseless, vulnerable,” said Maria Rodriguez, 33, who lives in Orlando with her family. “We left Venezuela because we couldn’t survive there. Now we have no family to go back to.”
Reinaldo Alvarado, a 29-year-old Venezuelan who migrated via Chile and now resides in Texas, said he fears for his future.
“I have TPS, but now that means nothing,” he said. “My plan is to leave for Spain.”
Judicial Dispute Over Federal Authority
Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled that Secretary Noem’s rollback violated procedural norms and painted Venezuelans in a discriminatory light.
Chen rejected the administration’s justification that TPS holders were criminals, calling it “baseless and smacking of racism.” He also noted that TPS Venezuelans were statistically more educated and law-abiding than the general U.S. population.
The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had previously declined the administration’s request to lift the pause, leading to the emergency Supreme Court filing.
Trump Targets Other TPS Groups
The ruling comes just weeks after Trump ended TPS for Afghan and Cameroonian nationals. It also follows a separate Supreme Court case last week in which the justices blocked the administration from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans without due process.
In that case, the Trump administration claimed TPS holders were affiliated with Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang labeled a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. The court, however, ruled that due process had not been met.
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