Trump administration may not end Venezuelan migrants' protections, court rules

19/9/2025 6:31

A federal appeals court has rejected a bid by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to set aside a judge's order holding it unlawfully rolled back

temporary protections from deportation granted to 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States.



A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a decision late on Wednesday declined to pause a judge's September 5 ruling holding that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to end the program, known as Temporary Protected Status or TPS.



"Vacating and terminating Venezuela’s TPS status threw the future of these Venezuelan citizens into disarray, and exposed them to a substantial risk of wrongful removal, separation from their families, and loss of employment," the panel said.



The panel, which included three judges appointed by Democratic presidents, said Congress did not contemplate such a result, and they declined to put on hold San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Edward Chen's ruling while the administration pursued an appeal.