A federal judge on Friday prevented US President Donald Trump’s administration from revoking temporary protected status for 5,000 Venezuelans—halting the invalidation of work permits and other residency documents.

San Francisco US District Judge Edward Chen found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem potentially exceeded her legal authority when trying to invalidate Temporary Protection Status (TPS) documents issued under the Biden administration to the Venezuelans.

In April 2024, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced an 18-month extension of the Temporary Protected Status, a program that grants temporary work authorization to individuals of certain countries deemed unsafe, allowing the current beneficiaries to re-register and maintain work authorizations until March 2026.

Shortly after the second Trump administration took over, however, Secretary Kristi Noem announced the cancellation of the TPS, calling it “against the country’s national interests.” Two days later, Noem announced the vacation of the extension, formally nullifying the TPS.

The court noted that 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(d)(3) ensures the validity of such documents until at least 60 days after publication of the formal termination of TPS in the Federal Register—meaning that the earliest “allowed date” to vacate the extension was April 7, and not February 5.

On the other hand, the court disagreed with the plaintiffs that the Venezuelan nationals holding TPS had protections extending through May 19, the date of a US Supreme Court ruling allowing removals to proceed while the case is pending.

The court also held that, under the law, only documents issued before February 5 deserve protection.

The latest developments are part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to end protected status to thousands of migrants, particularly those from Central and South America. On Friday, the US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to pause the CHNV parole program that allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to stay in the US as the situation in their home countries was deemed not safe—putting thousands of migrants at risk of deportation.