US federal appeals court rules DHS cannot end protections for Venezuela and Haiti immigrants News
Joe Gratz, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
US federal appeals court rules DHS cannot end protections for Venezuela and Haiti immigrants

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem acted illegally when she ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans and Haitians, effective on April 7, 2025.

Noem’s order in April would have vacated a designation for Venezuelans that was set to expire on October 2, 2026. The court held that 8 USC §1254a, which created the TPS program, gives the secretary of DHS the authority to designate countries for TPS and to extend and terminate that status. However, the statute gives the secretary no authority to vacate an existing TPS designation. The court wrote: “The Secretary attempted to exercise powers Congress simply did not provide under the statute.”

TPS can only be designated for periods of six, 12, or 18 months at a time, though it can be extended for the same periods.

The court ruled similarly on Noem’s partial vacatur of TPS for Haitians, adding that §1254a includes procedural safeguards to ensure predictability and stability for citizens of other countries while in the US under TPS status. The justices stated:

The Secretary’s unlawful actions have had real and significant consequences for the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians in the United States who rely on TPS. The record is replete with examples of hard-working, contributing members of society … who have been deported or detained after losing their TPS. Other TPS beneficiaries have lost their jobs (or) homes.

The court further emphasized that, as a result of Noem’s actions, hundreds of thousands of individuals have been left “in a constant state of fear that they will be deported, detained, separated from their families, and returned to a country in which they were subjected to violence or any other number of harms.

A federal judge in Washington is expected to rule soon on the termination of TPS for Haiti, pending a separate suit. The country’s TPS designation will end on February 3.

Noem’s order in April has led to a long procedural history over the last nine months. The US Supreme Court allowed Noem’s order to stand in May. The US District Court for the Northern District of California halted the revocation of TPS and deportation of 5,000 Venezuelans in June. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the 1798 Alien Enemies Act could not be used to deport Venezuelans, and the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled again that DHS could not remove TPS protections from Venezuelans and Haitians. Donald Trump’s administration appealed again and, on October 3, the Supreme Court ordered the immediate termination of TPS status for Venezuelans.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Accused Nazi war criminal, John Demjanjuk, put on trial in Israel

On February 16, 1987, accused Nazi war criminal, John Demjanjuk, went on trial in Jerusalem, Israel. The prosecution claimed that Demjanjuk was a notorious prison guard known as "Ivan the Terrible" at the Treblinka extermination camp during World War II. On this basis, Demjanjuk was convicted by the Israeli court of crimes against humanity. However, in August 1993, the conviction was overturned by Israel's Supreme Court on a finding of reasonable doubt. After the decision by the Supreme Court of Israel, Demjanjuk was returned to the United States, where he had been moved after World War II. On December 22, 2006, the US Board of Immigration Appeals ordered him deported to Ukraine on a finding that he had been a guard at other Nazi concentration camps.

American anarchist arrested for advocating birth control

On February 16, 1916, feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman was arrested in New York City for advocating birth control. Learn more about Emma Goldman and her defense of reproductive rights from the University of California, Berkeley.