Supreme Court Clears Way for Termination of TPS for Venezuelan Migrants
A quiet decision with seismic implications for hundreds of thousands of migrants: the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration, lifting a lower court injunction that had blocked the ending of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals. The 8–1 ruling, with only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting, surprised many, as it drew support from justices who typically lean liberal.
The ruling clears the way for the administration to terminate TPS protections for roughly 300,000 Venezuelan migrants, a move officials argue falls within executive authority. U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer told the Court that the lower court had overstepped its bounds, emphasizing that TPS designations involve “highly discretionary, sensitive, and foreign-policy-related decisions of the Executive Branch regarding immigration policy.”
The decision follows a February memo from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, revoking TPS for Venezuelans effective April. The memo stated that, after reviewing conditions in Venezuela, allowing these migrants to remain temporarily was no longer in the U.S. national interest.
TPS for Venezuelans was first designated on March 9, 2021, under Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas due to unsafe conditions in the country. Extensions followed, including an 18-month extension in September 2022 and a new 2023 designation through April 2025. In January 2025, Mayorkas issued a notice consolidating TPS processes, but Noem later vacated that decision, restoring the prior status.
Previously, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen blocked Noem’s plan, criticizing the administration’s characterization of migrants as potential criminals as “baseless and smacks of racism.”
🔹 Conclusion
The Supreme Court’s ruling marks a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy, granting the executive branch broader discretion over TPS designations. While it ends temporary protections for Venezuelan nationals, the case underscores the ongoing tension between executive authority, judicial oversight, and the real-world impact on migrant communities. Legal battles over immigration status protections are far from over.