Appeals Court Says DHS Order to End Protections for Venezuelans in US Was Illegal

A U.S. appeals court on Jan. 28 ruled that the Department of Homeland Security’s move to end deportation protection for tens of thousands of Venezuelan nationals was illegal.

A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem overstepped her authority when she ended the temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals who were living in the United States.

“Congress created TPS to provide stability, predictability, and a brief reprieve from deportation to qualifying citizens of designated countries. The catch: that reprieve is guaranteed for no more than 18 months at a time,” the order reads.

It also stated that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has “significant discretion and authority in designating, extending, and terminating a country’s TPS.”

“But by its plain language, the statute does not grant the Secretary the power to vacate an existing TPS designation,” the order reads.

The court wrote that Noem also exceeded her authority in “partially vacating Haiti’s TPS designation.”

Circuit Judge Kim Wardlaw wrote the opinion for the panel in a 3–0 order, further saying the TPS statute has “numerous procedural safeguards that ensure individuals with TPS enjoy predictability and stability during periods of extraordinary and temporary conditions in their home country.”

“The record is replete with examples of hard-working, contributing members of society—who are mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, and partners of U.S. citizens, pay taxes, and have no criminal records—who have been deported or detained after losing their TPS,” Wardlaw wrote.

TPS, authorized by Congress as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, allows the homeland security secretary to grant legal immigration status to people fleeing countries experiencing civil strife, environmental disaster, or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that prevent a safe return to those countries.

Designations are granted for periods of six, 12, or 18 months, and extensions can be granted as long as conditions remain dire. The status prevents holders from being deported and allows them to work, but it does not give them a path to citizenship.

The Jan. 29 ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in October 2025 allowed Noem’s decision on Venezuela to take effect pending a final decision by the justices.

DHS officials, including Noem, have argued that TPS has long been abused and noted that it’s only meant to be used temporarily. Instead, previous administrations have allowed TPS to continue for years, sometimes even decades.

In a statement in October, DHS said that a federal judge’s order blocking the termination of TPS for Venezuela was written by an activist judge, and a DHS official said that “previous administrations abused, exploited, and mangled TPS into a de facto amnesty program.”

“The Biden administration allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into our country, exacerbating the issue and endangering all Americans,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an Oct. 3 statement. “Now that it’s clear the law and the American people are on our side, Secretary Noem will continue to use every tool at our disposal to prioritize the safety of all U.S. citizens.”

Noem said that both Haiti and Venezuela are currently experiencing conditions that allow their nationals residing in the United States to safely return. She also said that it is not in the national interest to allow nationals from those countries to remain here under the program.

Aside from Haiti and Venezuela, Noem’s office has moved to end TPS for a range of other countries, such as Somalia, Syria, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

The Epoch Times reached out to the DHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.