Supreme Court allows elimination of TPS, which could affect 350,000 Venezuelans

The Supreme Court ruled in recent hours that the government can revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Venezuelan immigrants while the rule continues to be contested in lower courts.

In a brief order, the justices, opposed by leftist Ketanji Brown Jackson, lifted a district judge's decision to bar the elimination of TPS while the Justice Department rules on the legality of the measure.

The protection had been extended to the Venezuelan population by former President Joe Biden in 2021 due to the political situation in Venezuela. The program allows about 350,000 Venezuelans to stay and work legally in the United States for 18 months, a period that can be extended.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tried to reverse the measure shortly after taking office, but a district judge blocked her decision. Justice Edward Chen alleged, among other arguments, that the measure would generate "irreparable harm" to the beneficiaries of the program and to the country, and that it had been a decision "unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus." Chen even claimed that Noem appeared to harbor racist motivations.

The appeal was sent to SCOTUS, which on Monday ruled in its favor. The favorable decision comes just days after another top court ruling on immigration, although on that occasion unfavorable to the White House.