CASA and Make the Road New York are challenging DHS Secretary Noem’s decision to 1) vacate (nullify) the 18-month extension of Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted by the Biden administration on January 17, 2025, and 2) terminate the Biden administration’s 2023 designation of Venezuelan TPS, which enabled individuals who had continuously resided in the U.S. as of July 31, 2023, and who had been continuously physically present in the U.S. as of October 3, 2023, to apply for TPS.
TPS is a form of humanitarian relief provided by the INA, which allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to “designate” a foreign state for TPS based on certain conditions that make it difficult for nationals of that state to remain or return there, including armed conflict and natural disasters. To qualify for TPS, individuals must show, among other things, continuous physical presence in the United States from the most recent date of designation, continuous residence in the United States from a (potentially earlier) date designated by the DHS Secretary, and a lack of disqualifying criminal history.
On January 19, 2021–the day before President Biden was inaugurated–the first Trump administration designated Venezuela for immigration relief in the form of Deferred Enforced Departure, which allows foreign nationals to remain and work in the U.S. lawfully while conditions in their homeland are unsafe. The Biden administration then designated Venezuela for TPS on March 9, 2021, subsequently extending that designation multiple times, and also re-designated Venezuela for TPS on October 23, 2023, which enabled additional, more recently arrived Venezuelan nationals to apply for TPS. The Trump administration has published Federal Register Notices vacating the Biden administration’s January 17, 2025 extension of Venezuelan TPS, and terminating the October 23, 2023 re-designation of Venezuelan TPS.
The Plaintiffs argue that the vacatur of the January 17, 2025 extension of Venezuelan TPS and the termination of the October 23, 2023 re-designation of Venezuelan TPS are unlawful and also unsupported by reasoned decision making, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. They also argue that the decision to terminate Venezuelan TPS was motivated by intentional discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.
On April 1, 2025, the court denied the Plaintiffs’ motion to stay (pause) the termination of Venezuelan TPS as moot in light of the fact that Judge Chen granted nationwide relief in National TPS Alliance v. Trump, and ordered the parties to submit a joint status report in 30 days. On April 28, 2025, the government moved to dismiss the case.
Technical Summary
The Plaintiffs challenge the vacatur of the January 17, 2025 extension and the termination of the October 23, 2023 re-designation of Venezuelan TPS as contrary to law, arbitrary and capricious, and pretextual under the APA. The Plaintiffs also bring an Equal Protection claim, alleging that the vacatur and termination are unconstitutional because they were motivated by animus based on race, ethnicity, or national origin. They ask the court to declare unlawful and to set aside the vacatur and termination.
On April 28, 2025, the government moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the TPS statute bars judicial review of Plaintiffs’ claims; that actions concerning TPS are committed to agency discretion by law; that 8 U.S.C. § 1252(f)(1) bars judicial review because Plaintiffs seek to “enjoin” or “restrain” operation a statutory provision covered by § 1252(f)(1); and that both the vacatur of the January 17, 2025 extension of Venezuelan TPS and the termination of the October 23, 2023 re-designation of Venezuelan TPS were neither contrary to law nor in excess of statutory authority.
Latest Updates
- 04/28/2025
- 02/20/2025
