A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision on Friday that preserved Venezuelans’ Temporary Protected Status (TPS). As the court processes the legal challenges, the status will remain in place.
The Biden administration had extended TPS for about 600,000 Venezuelans through October 2026 before leaving office.
The status would expire for approximately 350, 000 Venezuelans who were initially granted protection in 2023 in April of this year, and for approximately 250, 000 Venezuelans who were initially granted the status in 2021 by September. According to the Trump administration, the status would expire.
That would make those impacted legally unemployed and vulnerable to deportation.
In a previous ruling in March, US District Judge Edward Chen had determined that plaintiffs’ claims that the administration had overstepped its authority were likely to have a majority in court.
Venezuelans’ attorneys claimed that the administration was motivated by racial animus.
Chen at the time set the termination to be frozen. The Supreme Court, however, temporarily allowed the administration to proceed with the status change and reversed the decision in an emergency appeal.
targeted TPS
The Immigration Act of 1990 created Temporary Protected Status under the guidance of Congress.
It authorizes the Department of Homeland Security’s secretary to grant legal immigration status to people fleeing nations where there are “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that prevent a safe return to their home countries.
In its harsh immigration policy, the Trump administration has begun to ban the program for citizens of Haiti, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Although the administration has the right to refuse to renew TPS, several courts have rejected attempts to alter already established timelines.
Source: Aljazeera
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