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22-05-2025
WASHINGTON: The United States Supreme Court on Monday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to revoke the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants, paving the way for their deportation.
The court reverses a San Francisco-based district judge’s March order to block Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to remove temporary protected status from some 348,000 Venezuelans as part of Trump’s crackdown on immigrants.
The Trump administration has justified its deportation over allegations that some of the Venezuelans are members of gangs, although it has not provided any proof to back its claims.
What is Temporary Protected Status?
TPS grants people living in the US relief from deportation if their home country is affected by extraordinary circumstances such as armed conflict or environmental disasters. An individual who is granted TPS cannot be deported, can obtain an employment authorization document and may be given travel authorization. A TPS holder cannot be detained by the US over their immigration status.
The duration of this is granted in increments from six months to 18 months. However, this can be renewed and sometimes has been renewed for up to decades. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary can grant TPS to people from specific countries.
Countries that are currently designated for TPS include: Afghanistan, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.
The program was enacted in the 1990s under President George HW Bush after migrants from El Salvador arrived in the US, fleeing civil war. TPS does not grant a path to US citizenship.
Former President Biden expanded the program, granting TPS to individuals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Myanmar, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Venezuela was granted TPS in 2021 by the Biden administration. He also expanded the TPS eligibility for people from other countries, including Haiti. In 2020, 10 countries had TPS. By the end of Biden’s time in office, some 17 countries were eligible.
How many people are affected by this?
The Supreme Court decision applies to a group of Venezuelans who arrived in the US in 2023. This means 348,202 Venezuelans living in the US are affected by this, who were registered under former President Biden’s 2023 designation. Close to the end of Biden’s term in office, US officials renewed the status for these individuals until October 2026.
Economic and political turmoil have driven about eight million Venezuelans out of their country since 2014, according to the United Nations. The economic crisis was partly worsened by US sanctions against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
What did the Trump administration do?
There are about 600,000 Venezuelans in the US with TPS. Shortly after Trump took office in February, Noem revoked TPS for 348,202, who were granted TPS in 2021.
Noem justified the revocations due to gang membership and “adverse effects on US workers”. The DHS has, without evidence, said the Biden administration granted TPS to “gang members” and “known terrorists and murderers”. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
