A San Francisco federal judge dealt a new blow to the Trump administration’s legal defense for dismantling temporary immigration protections, finding its cancellation of relief for Venezuelan and Haitian migrants unlawful.
The Department of Homeland Security terminated Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans in February and another half million Haitians in July. The National TPS Alliance argued in a legal challenge that DHS violated procedural requirements by nixing the extensions. The suit also argued that the cancellations violated their equal protection rights because they were motivated by racial animus.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act in terminating protections, District Court Judge Edward M. Chen found in an order Friday granting summary judgment to the plaintiffs.
Temporary Protected Status allows immigrants who can’t safely return to their home countries to stay in the US and get work eligibility for up to 18 months. DHS is required by statute to conduct an objective review of conditions in a designated country at least 60 days before protections expire to decide whether they should be renewed or not.
The Trump administration has faced multiple legal challenges over TPS terminations. A New York judge already blocked DHS in July from removing the protections for Haitians. And Chen in March found that canceling TPS for Venezuelans was likely unlawful, issuing an order preserving the protections.
An appellate panel affirmed last week that DHS likely violated the APA. But the US Supreme Court previously granted an emergency request from the Trump administration allowing it to strip protections while litigation moves forward.
National TPS Alliance is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and University of Los Angeles School of Law’s Center for Immigration Law and Policy. DHS is represented by the Department of Justice.
The case is National TPS Alliance v. Noem, N.D. Cal., No. 3:25-cv-01766, summary judgment granted 9/5/25.
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