Judge blocks Trump move to void work permits for 5,000 Venezuelans
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The block comes amid ongoing legal challenges to the broader termination of temporary protected status.
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A military aircraft waits for migrants to board from a bus at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on January 30, 2025, before deporting them to Guatemala (AP)
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from invalidating work permits and other legal documents held by approximately 5,000 Venezuelans, a small group of the nearly 350,000 whose temporary protections the US Supreme Court recently allowed to be rescinded.
In a Friday night ruling, US District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco determined that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likely overstepped her authority when she moved in February to nullify those documents while also ending the broader Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans.
While the Supreme Court on May 19 lifted a previous order by Judge Chen that had barred the administration from ending TPS protections under Trump's hardline immigration agenda, the justices explicitly stated that their decision did not prevent individuals from challenging the revocation of TPS-related documents that permitted them to live and work in the US.
TPS protections lifted, but document changes allowed
These documents were granted after the Department of Homeland Security, in the final days of President Biden’s administration, extended TPS for Venezuelans by 18 months to October 2026, a move Noem sought to overturn.
The TPS program is designed to offer temporary legal status to individuals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
Attorneys for several Venezuelans and the National TPS Alliance urged Judge Edward Chen to uphold work permits tied to TPS, warning that thousands risk job loss or deportation.
Chen agreed, ruling that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to revoke the documents, noting that only 5,000 of 350,000 TPS holders had them, too few to pose economic or security concerns.
"This smaller number cuts against any contention that the continued presence of these TPS holders who were granted TPS-related documents by the Secretary would be a toll on the national or local economies or a threat to national security,” Chen stated in his decision.
Supreme Court backs Trump plan to deport 500,000 migrants
Chen’s decision came just hours after the Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of the Trump administration in a case that could result in the deportation of nearly 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The decision allows federal authorities to proceed with dismantling the CHNV parole program introduced under former President Joe Biden.
"The application for stay presented to JUSTICE JACKSON and by her referred to the Court is granted," the ruling states, effectively overturning a lower court's injunction that had temporarily blocked the administration’s move.
While the decision strips their current protections, many of those affected may still pursue other legal pathways to remain in the country, including asylum. Attorneys representing them say thousands have already done so.
Decision unexplained
The court’s unsigned order did not explain the decision but noted that Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor dissented. Jackson criticized the ruling for overlooking "the devastating consequences of allowing the government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending."
The Biden administration was challenging a ruling by District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts, who determined that immigration status could not be revoked en masse without individualized review. That ruling is now paused as legal proceedings continue.
Victory vs. devastation
Karen Tumlin, a lawyer with the Justice Action Center representing affected immigrants, criticized the Supreme Court’s move, saying it effectively paves the way for the largest mass deportation in recent history. Calling it "devastating", she explained how the court has "effectively greenlit deportation orders for an estimated half a million people, the largest such de-legalization in the modern era."
In contrast, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin praised the ruling, calling it a “victory for the American people” and claiming it corrected a Biden-era mistake that allowed “poorly vetted aliens” into the country.
The CHNV parole programs allowed migrants from certain countries to stay in the US with a sponsor and after passing a security check, similar to policies for Ukrainians and Afghans.
While the Biden administration used the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the program, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued in court that Judge Talwani lacked the authority to block Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s reversal of it.
DHS announced in 2024 that the two-year parole terms would not be renewed, prompting legal challenges from affected individuals and advocacy groups like the Haitian Bridge Alliance.
In court filings, attorneys for the plaintiffs clarified that Judge Talwani’s ruling did not block Secretary Noem from ending the parole program entirely, but it did prevent the government from abruptly revoking the legal status of those already enrolled through a broad, unilateral action.
