U.S. judge halts Trump administration from voiding work permits for Venezuelans

A federal judge ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likely exceeded her authority by revoking documents granted under the Temporary Protected Status program—offering relief to thousands of Venezuelans facing potential deportation.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from voiding work permits and other documentation granting lawful status to approximately 5,000 Venezuelans. These individuals are part of a larger group of nearly 350,000 Venezuelans whose Temporary Protected Status (TPS) the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled could be terminated. In a decision issued late Friday, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likely overstepped her legal authority in February when she invalidated these documents as part of the broader rollback of TPS protections for Venezuelans.

On May 19, the Supreme Court lifted a prior injunction from Judge Chen that had halted the administration’s effort—aligned with President Donald Trump's strict immigration stance—to end TPS protections for Venezuelans. However, the high court left open the possibility for individuals to challenge the specific invalidation of TPS-related documents, which allowed recipients to legally work and reside in the U.S.

These documents had been issued during the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration, when the Department of Homeland Security extended TPS protections for Venezuelans by 18 months, through October 2026—a move Noem later sought to reverse.

TPS is a humanitarian program offered to nationals of countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other crises. Attorneys representing several Venezuelan recipients and the advocacy group National TPS Alliance argued in court that canceling the documents would risk job loss and deportation for thousands of individuals.

Judge Chen, an appointee of President Barack Obama, agreed, stating that there is nothing in the TPS statute that authorizes the Homeland Security Secretary to retroactively invalidate previously issued documents. He also pointed out that the number of affected individuals—about 5,000—was too small to justify arguments that their continued presence posed a strain on the economy or a threat to national security.

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet commented on the ruling.

Judge Chen’s decision came just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a separate case, upheld the Trump administration's move to terminate a different Biden-era program that had granted temporary immigration parole to over half a million migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

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