A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from removing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans.
Two months ago, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem revoked Venezuelan TPS status after the Biden administration extended it.
The termination of this status was set to go into effect on April 7.
TPS allows foreign nationals to stay in America if the federal government finds it unsafe for them to return to their country. These people can work and not be deported.
Judge Edward Chen on Tuesday said that taking away TPS status for Venezuelans makes them face instant deportation to a country that is deemed unsafe by the federal government.
Chen (pictured above) further said that Noem’s actions “appear predicated on negative stereotypes casting class-wide aspersions on their character.”
Former President Barack Obama appointed Chen in 2009.
“The undisputed record establishes that Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries, in fact, have higher education attainment than most U.S. citizens (40-54% have bachelor degrees), have high labor participation rates (80-96%), earn nearly all their personal income (96%), and annually contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and pay hundreds of millions, if not billions, in social security taxes,” Chen wrote. “They also have lower rates of criminality than the general U.S. population.”
The judge said plaintiffs showed that they “will likely succeed” in showing that Noem’s actions were unauthorized by “law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus.”
“For these reasons, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ request to postpone the challenged actions pending final adjudication of the merits of this case,” Chen wrote.
The judge also said plaintiffs in the case showed “significant evidence” that these TPS holders and their families would “suffer irreparable harm if they are not afforded temporary relief.”
Furthermore, he said the public interest favors these plaintiffs due to “the substantial economic, public safety, and humanitarian ramifications.”
“The government’s contention that the public interest weighs in its favor is not convincing because the government lacks any evidence of national security harms,” Chen wrote. “Accordingly, the balance of hardships (including consideration of the public interest) tips sharply in Plaintiffs’ favor.”
The judge explained that by “work alone,” Venezuelan TPS holders contribute “significant economic contributions to their communities.”
“If TPS holders from Venezuela lose their work authorization under the TPS program, there
would be additional economic impacts on the United States and the communities where the TPS holders currently live,” Chen wrote.
In addition, the Obama-appointed judge failed to show that “any Venezuelan TPS holders” are members of Tren de Aragua (TdA) or have ties to the gang.
The Trump administration designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization and used the 1798 Aliens Enemies Act to deport alleged TdA members.
Chen said that within “one week of this order,” both sides involved must file a joint status report addressing whether the government will appeal the judge’s decision, if the plaintiffs will file a “motion to postpone with respect to agency action related to Haiti’s TPS designation,” and propose a date for an initial case management conference.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.
