Trump asks Supreme Court to rebuff lower judge, end deportation amnesty for Venezuelans

The Trump administration has formally asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and permit it to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for over 300,000 Venezuelan migrants. TPS is a program that prevents their deportation, allows them to work legally in the U.S., and grants certain temporary legal protections. 

A federal judge in California, Edward M. Chen, who was appointed by President Obama, recently issued a summary judgment ordering that the Venezuelan TPS protections remain in force. This came after the Supreme Court earlier blocked (via emergency stay) a preliminary injunction that had similarly prevented the administration from terminating the TPS for these migrants. 

The government, through Solicitor General D. John Sauer, argues that Judge Chen’s latest ruling is essentially a rehash of the earlier decision that the Supreme Court stayed. The administration claims this demonstrates that lower courts are ignoring or defying Supreme Court rulings, because those rulings, in the government’s view, had already determined the administration was likely to succeed in ending TPS. 

The case involves more than just legal technicalities. Over 300,000 Venezuelans have been living under TPS. They were granted it in recognition of the political, humanitarian, and economic crisis in Venezuela, which continues to cause instability.  The administration, especially via Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, has pushed to terminate the TPS designation, arguing that circumstances have improved enough in Venezuela and that maintaining the program is no longer justified. 

Judge Chen, however, found evidence of racial bias in the termination decision, arguing that some of the rationale used by officials was tainted by negative stereotyping. This finding is part of why he ruled the government’s move unlawful and maintained the protections. 

Meanwhile, the Fifth Circuit—or in this case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals—has supported Judge Chen’s decision, rejecting efforts to immediately halt the ruling and let the administration end the TPS protections while the litigation continues. 

In another development, the Trump administration also moved to end TPS for Syrians. Currently, Syrians with TPS have 60 days to leave the U.S. if they do not have another legal basis to stay. The government claims conditions in Syria have improved sufficiently to justify ending the protection; opponents argue that the country remains unsafe and that the decision puts people at risk.

Source: The Washington Times