5 KEY POINT SUMMARY – Venezuelans legal protection
• Supreme Court allows Trump to end protections for 350,000 Venezuelans
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS) now set to expire without court interference
• Critics warn the move exposes families to torture, arrest, or even death
• DHS calls ruling a win for “safety and integrity” in immigration
• Human rights groups say decision may be the largest mass status revocation in history
Court Clears Path To End Venezuelans’ Protected Status
The Trump administration scored a major legal victory Monday as the U.S. Supreme Court gave the green light to end legal protections for more than 350,000 Venezuelans living in the country under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). With little explanation, the high court overruled a lower court that had blocked the government’s plans.
The ruling could become the largest action in modern U.S. history to revoke immigration status from a specific group. TPS had shielded Venezuelans from deportation since 2021 due to instability and political violence in their home country.
Venezuelan Families Now Face Expulsion
Families like Mariana Moleros’s are now bracing for what could come next. She and her husband fled Venezuela in 2005 after death threats for opposing the Maduro regime. While the U.S. denied their asylum claim, they were protected under TPS—until now.
“Today we are all exposed to being imprisoned in Venezuela if the U.S. returns us,” said Moleros, a Florida-based attorney. “They should not deport someone who is at risk of being assassinated.”
Moleros isn’t alone. Millions have fled Venezuela’s economic collapse, with over 7.7 million displaced since 2013.
Administration Applauds Decision, Activists Outraged
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the ruling, calling it a “win for the American people.” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin blasted the Biden-era use of TPS as “exploited” and vowed that the Trump team would restore “integrity” to immigration.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only justice to dissent.
But civil rights lawyers argue the stakes are enormous. “This will force families to choose between survival and stability,” said Cecilia Gonzalez Herrera, a TPS recipient and plaintiff in the case.
Deportations Could Start As Soon As July
A final ruling in the federal case is still pending, but without the Supreme Court’s protection, deportations could begin almost immediately. Judge Edward Chen, who previously blocked the move, cited the catastrophic social and economic fallout the decision could spark.
While Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues that TPS holders still have “other legal avenues,” immigration advocates say that’s cold comfort for families fearing a return to a dictatorship.
Justice Chen had previously ruled that ending TPS could result in billions in lost economic activity and devastating personal consequences for those affected.
What’s Next For Venezuelans In The U.S.?
The Department of Homeland Security has already moved to wind down other TPS designations. Last week, the administration announced TPS for Afghanistan would end in July. Earlier this year, officials filed to revoke humanitarian parole for Haitians, Nicaraguans, Cubans, and other Venezuelans.
Human rights experts warn that such sweeping revocations violate international principles.
“This is not a policy tweak. This is a brutal reset that puts lives in danger,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, legal director for the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA.
Trump’s decision has already energized conservative voters. But for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, it’s a terrifying sign that their time in the U.S. may be running out.
