(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration’s request to stay a lower court’s ruling, allowing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to end a federal “temporary protected status” (TPS) designation for roughly 300,000 Venezuelans released into the country by the Biden administration.
The protected status was granted to roughly 600,000 Venezuelans, with one group’s status ending in April of this year and another in March of next year, The Center Square reported.
After millions of illegal foreign nationals were released into the country through new parole programs created by the Biden administration, at least one million of them were granted TPS from deportation outside of the parole programs. They include citizens of countries of foreign concern with ties to terrorism.
Those receiving TPS are granted deferred enforced departure (DED) status, a temporary, discretionary, administrative stay of removal.
On President Donald Trump’s first day in office, he rescinded the Biden administration order, including the parole programs and TPS for Venezuelans.
He did so after more than 1 million Venezuelans illegally entered the U.S., the greatest number in U.S. history, including violent Tren de Aragua members who expanded operations in at least 22 states, The Center Square first reported. Since then, the Trump administration designated TdA a foreign terrorist organization and through the Enemy Aliens Act moved to deport TdA members from the country. This deportation effort is being held up in court.
As has been the case with most of Trump’s orders and agency decisions, lawsuits were filed and emergency appeals were made to the Supreme Court.
In the Venezuelan TPS case, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California attempted to halt the administration’s decision, which the Supreme Court stayed on Monday.
In a one paragraph order, the Supreme Court granted a request for a stay presented to Justice Elena Kagan, which was referred to the full court. A March 31, 2025, order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California “is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought,” the order states. “Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court.”
It also states Justice Ketanji Jackson would have denied the request for a stay.
Ending the Venezuelan TPS was the first of many TPS recissions being made by the administration, which “is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. Continuing TPS for most illegal border crossers “is contrary to the national interest of the United States.”
Rescinding TPS is “part of President Trump’s promise to rescind policies that were magnets for illegal immigration and inconsistent with the law,” DHS said.
“The TPS system has been exploited and abused,” DHS said. “For example, Haiti has been designated for TPS since 2010. The data shows each extension of the country’s TPS designation allowed more Haitian nationals, even those who entered the U.S. illegally, to qualify for legal protected status.
“In May of 2011, DHS estimated that 57,000 Haitians were eligible to register for TPS. In August 2021, DHS estimated that 155,000 Haitians were eligible under the new designation. And by July 2024, the estimate skyrocketed to 520,694.”
In February, DHS rescinded TPS for Haitians, ending it August 3.
Under the Biden administration, nearly 700,000 Haitians illegally entered the country, the greatest number in U.S. history. As a result, local communities nationwide struggled with increased crime and taxpayer-associated costs, The Center Square reported.
Last week, DHS announced it was terminating TPS for Afghan nationals, expiring on May 20 with effective termination July 14.
This is after multiple federal reports found that Biden administration agencies didn’t properly vet tens of thousands of Afghans released into the U.S. after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, The Center Square reported.
After waging a war against “terrorism” in Afghanistan for 20 years, between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, Border Patrol agents apprehended “aliens on the terrorist watchlist from 36 different countries, including places with an active terrorist presence such as Afghanistan,” a U.S. House Judiciary report found.
From fiscal years 2021-2024, the greatest number of KSTs were apprehended in U.S. history of 1,903, The Center Square exclusively reported. The majority, 64%, were apprehended at the northern border coming from Canada, according to CBP data.
