A Barack Obama-appointed federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from terminating the immigration documents of 5,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the United States.
A federal court in California has halted an attempt by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to revoke approximately 5,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) documents.
A TPS designation protects foreign nationals from deportation.
The status also allows them to apply for authorization to work in the United States.
The move from Democrat-aligned Judge Edward M. Chen comes despite the U.S. Supreme Court having already affirmed the Trump administration’s authority to end Venezuela’s TPS designation.
TPS is a limited protection offered only when foreign nationals cannot safely return home.
Shortly before Trump returned to the White House, the Biden administration extended Venezuela’s TPS to October 2026.
However, Secretary Noem terminated that extension on February 5.
Noem cited national interest and security concerns.
The plaintiffs—a group of TPS recipients—argued that even if the broader designation was rescinded, DHS overstepped its legal authority by voiding individual TPS documents already issued.
The district court agreed, ruling the government could not retroactively invalidate those documents.
“Nothing in the TPS statute allows the Secretary to take such action,” the