Supreme Court Allows Trump to End Deportation Protections for 350,000 Venezuelans
The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans, a move that could lead to mass deportations. The decision lifts a lower court’s decision that had kept TPS in place following Biden’s 2023 extension, which would have allowed recipients to stay until 2026. The court’s unsigned two-paragraph order came as part of an emergency appeal, with only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson publicly dissenting.
Critics called the decision the largest stripping of legal status for non-citizens in U.S. history. “That the Supreme Court authorized it in a two-paragraph order with no reasoning is truly shocking,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney for the plaintiffs. Advocates warn the ruling could devastate families who fled violence and economic collapse in Venezuela. One TPS holder, Mariana Moleros, said, “They should not deport someone who is at risk of being assassinated, tortured, and incarcerated.”
The Biden administration originally granted TPS to Venezuelans due to “extraordinary and temporary conditions,” including hunger, repression, and a crumbling infrastructure. But Trump officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, argue the program has been misused and that ending it restores “integrity” to the immigration system. While the court left room for legal challenges over specific documents, many Venezuelans now face an uncertain future — and the threat of deportation to a country they say is still too dangerous to return to.
