Supreme Court Stays Order That Had Paused Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans

Quick Hits

• The Supreme Court’s stay of a district court order has permitted the Trump administration to resume rescission of the TPS designation for Venezuela, as outlined in Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s previous determinations.
• Benefits under the 2023 TPS designation for Venezuela may now be subject to revocation, affecting work authorization and protection from removal for Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries; protections under the 2021 TPS designation will remain in place until September 10, 2025.
• Although the Supreme Court’s order reinstates the rescission actions, it leaves open the possibility of further legal challenges regarding the validity of immigration documents (i.e., EADs, Forms I-797, Notices of Action, and Forms I-94) issued with October 2, 2026, expiration dates.

Background

The TPS designation provides temporary status to foreign nationals in the United States who are unable to return to their home countries due to an event or circumstance present in those countries. The secretary of homeland security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to temporary conditions such as ongoing armed conflicts, environmental disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent nationals from safely returning to their countries. During the designated TPS period, TPS beneficiaries are protected from removal and may apply for work and travel authorization.

In 2021, Venezuela was initially designated for TPS, and in October 2023, Venezuela was redesignated for TPS—an expansion of the program that provided additional relief for citizens of Venezuela who met qualifying criteria. The 2021 and 2023 designations were most recently extended by the Biden administration for eighteen months, to October 2, 2026.

On January 28, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem cancelled the extension of the 2021 and 2023 TPS designations for Venezuela. On February 3, 2025, Secretary Noem terminated the 2023 TPS designation entirely, ending temporary legal protections for beneficiaries under the 2023 designation on April 7, 2025.

On March 31, 2025, Judge Edward Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a nationwide order postponing Secretary Noem’s cancellation of the eighteen-month extension for the 2021 and 2023 TPS designations and the termination of the 2023 TPS designation, pending a final decision on the merits in the case. Both the district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected applications by the Trump administration to stay this temporary order.

Analysis and Impact

The Supreme Court’s order is narrow in scope in that it effectively reverses the lower court’s temporary pause on the rescission of TPS for Venezuela and does not address the merits of the TPS rescission itself.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may now proceed with its revocation of TPS for Venezuela, as outlined in Secretary Noem’s previous determinations. However, legal challenges to these actions will continue to proceed through the courts and may again reach the Supreme Court to directly decide on the legality of DHS’s actions.

Immediate impacts for TPS Venezuela beneficiaries include the following:

• Beneficiaries under the 2023 designation may now be subject to revocation of TPS benefits and removal from the United States.
• EADs under the 2023 designation with expiration dates of April 2, 2025, may no longer be valid as proof of work authorization.
• Beneficiaries under the 2021 designation continue to have TPS benefits in place through September 10, 2025.
• Only EADs under the 2021 designation with expiration dates of September 10, 2025, March 10, 2024, or September 9, 2022, are automatically extended through September 10, 2025.

To the extent that Secretary Noem’s rescission of TPS designation purports to invalidate immigration documents, including EADs, already issued to TPS Venezuela beneficiaries with validity until October 2, 2026, the Supreme Court’s order expressly states that such a purported invalidation remains subject to legal challenge. However, absent further court decisions or DHS policy changes, the prior rescissions of TPS designation for Venezuela are reinstated, and any EADs or other documents with a validity expiration date of October 2, 2026, may no longer be valid.

We expect DHS to provide further clarification as to how it intends to proceed with the implementation of its revocation of TPS for Venezuela, including updated guidance related to I-9 verification.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will monitor developments with respect to these and other policy changes and will provide updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

This article and more information on how the Trump administration’s actions impact employers can be found on Ogletree Deakins’ New Administration Resource Hub.

Follow and Subscribe
LinkedIn | Instagram | Webinars | Podcasts