Migratory Limbo for 350,000 Venezuelans After Historic Supreme Court Ruling

TPS: Supreme Court Revokes Protection for Venezuelans

350,000 Left in Immigration Limbo

Organizations Denounce Humanitarian Impact

Around 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants have been left in migratory limbo following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows the White House to eliminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) previously granted to this community.

End of TPS Leaves Thousands in Uncertainty

TPS: Supreme Court Revokes Protection for Venezuelans – PHOTO: Shutterstock

Why It Matters

Experts consider this decision to be the “largest deprivation” of legal status for foreign nationals in the country’s modern history.

The ruling overturns an emergency order from a lower court in California that had blocked former President Donald Trump’s plans to revoke TPS.

Now, thousands of Venezuelans face the loss of their work permits and an increased risk of deportation.

Understanding the Decision to End TPS

The Supreme Court’s decision, issued in just two paragraphs, places the next move in the hands of the federal executive branch: either to immediately revoke TPS, implement a 60-day grace period, or wait for the outcome of the lawsuit filed.

The lawsuit was brought by six Venezuelan immigrants with the support of the TPS Alliance and migrant rights organizations.

ALSO OF INTEREST: Asylum Seekers Face Uncertainty at the Border After Program Suspension

Direct Impact on Venezuelans

“The immediate loss of our TPS causes us extraordinary harm. We now fear deportation and will struggle to survive,” said E.R., one of the plaintiffs.

Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of UCLA’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy, stated that “the humanitarian and economic impact of the Court’s decision will be felt immediately and will resonate for generations.”

Reactions and Criticism

Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, described the ruling as “the first time in modern history” that legal status has been revoked from so many immigrants.

“This is part of a campaign to instill fear and terror,” said Alvarado, adding that protections provided by law to countries in crisis are being reversed without valid justification.

E.R. stressed that for her and her daughter, “it’s impossible” to return to Venezuela safely.

Emi MacLean, an attorney with the ACLU of Northern California, noted that the Supreme Court “also dismantled legal safeguards designed to limit executive discretion and to prevent the politicization of decisions on broad humanitarian aid.”

José Palma of the National TPS Alliance said this ruling amounts to “an attack on all beneficiaries.”

What’s Next

The Supreme Court is also reviewing another emergency appeal from the Trump administration to eliminate the CHNV program, which allowed humanitarian entry for about 500,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Currently, nationals from at least 16 countries are protected by TPS, including roughly 200,000 Salvadorans who have held the status since 2001.

The Venezuelans’ Fight Continues After Losing This Protection

Adelis Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, emphasized that while it was a “very difficult” day, it also marks a new chapter.

“You are not alone — this is everyone’s home,” she said.

The future of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the United States now depends on political and judicial decisions that could redefine not only their immigration status, but the very concept of humanitarian protection in the country.

Do you think the United States should maintain TPS for Venezuelan migrants?

SOURCE: EFE