Judge Blocks Trump from Ending Protections for 1.1M Migrants

A judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from revoking hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan and Haitian immigrants’ immigration protections.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s moves to terminate the immigrants’ “temporary protected status” was “preordained without any [meaningful] analysis and review.”

Temporary protected status is afforded to people who are from countries with humanitarian crises to remain in the country and work legally.

The litigation has gone through different stages in the preceding months. At one point in the case, the Supreme Court allowed Noem’s decisions on the subject to stand while litigation continued in the lower courts.

Chen, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, argued that his ruling did not conflict with the previous Supreme Court decision. He said the case was only in a preliminary posture then, and their orders applied just to a temporary block he had issued. Chen also explained that the higher court did not stop him from fully considering the case and rendering a decision on the merits of the case.

Anticipating an appeal from the Trump administration, Chen made his ruling effective immediately, noting the “significant rights of the Venezuelan and Haitian TPS holders who have lost or will lose status in the absence of relief.”

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Politico that TPS will end.

“For decades the TPS program has been abused, exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “While this order delays justice, Secretary Noem will use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans. … Unelected activist judges cannot stop the will of the American people for a safe and secure homeland.”

A ruling against the Trump administration on the matter is a setback for the president’s immigration agenda. President Donald Trump hopes to deport numerous people who live within the U.S. as he settles into his third term.