Washington – Venezuelans with temporary legal protection have sued the Trump administration for depriving about 350,000 immigrants by April 7.
Temporary protected status allows people to legally live in the United States to work if they face conditions that prevent safe return to their homes. The loss of TPS means Venezuelan immigrants may face deportation.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco on Wednesday night, filed by the National TPS Alliance and eight Venezuelans. The lawsuit accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of illegally revoking protections for Venezuelans for 18 months, a grant from the Biden administration before President Biden resigned.
250,000 Venezuelans are expected to lose protection in September.
Plaintiff’s lawyers say the Trump administration’s move to cancel the expansion is unprecedented. Since Congress established its status in 1990, no government has ended its protection as early as possible. The lawsuit argues that the government violated federal law because the Administrative Procedure Act does not allow termination and requires a period of review.
The lawsuit also claims the termination was motivated by racial animation motivations for Venezuelans. Jessica Bansal, an attorney for the Los Angeles-based National Day Workers' Network, noted that Noem appeared on Fox News to explain the firing decision, during which she said: People in this country want these dirty bags. They want their communities to be safe.”
During last year’s campaign, President Trump repeatedly described immigration as danger and threat, with the theme in responses from administration officials.
“All of their languages are really loaded,” Bensal said, noting that immigrants can only be temporarily protected after a review process including background checks.
“If you look at case law, it’s the kind of racial discrimination found in the language court,” she said.
The plaintiffs are also represented by the ACLU Foundation in Northern and Southern California and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA Law School.
Hendrina Vivas Castillo, 49, is one of the named plaintiffs. Vivas Castillo, who lives in Culver City, said she entered the U.S. on a tourist visa and decided to stay in part because she knew she would be protected by law under the leadership of the TPS. She is now a delivery driver, but her license will expire within two months of her protection.
“My concerns started the first moment I found out they were going to revoke our TPS,” she said. “What am I going to do here? I hope this lawsuit can help us Venezuelans.”
Venezuelans are just one group of thousands who benefit from legal immigration paths that Trump has blocked since taking office last month.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this month: “These three regimes in Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba are enemies of mankind and they have caused an immigration crisis.”
trump card order Review of all 17 TPS designated countries, as well as legal experts say the reason for Venezuela's termination can be applied to any other beneficiary country.
The move to end TPS protections for certain Venezuelans represents Trump's reversal. Just before leaving the office in 2021, he offered certain Venezuelans Similar immigration benefits This protected them from deportation, saying that the situation in Venezuela is “the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere in recent memory.”
In a federal Gazette notice marking the termination, Noim wrote that Venezuela “has significantly improved in multiple areas such as economy, public health and crime”, and that members of the Trend Alaguya gang were allowed to enter One of the Venezuelans
The termination led to some divisions among Republicans. exist Letter to Norm this month Rep. Mario Diaz Bharat (R-FLA.) urged her to “make sure that Venezuelan nationals without criminal records will not be forced to return to one of the world’s most repressive dictatorships.”
During Trump's first presidency, he moved 95% of people to the TPS, including those from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Nepal and Honduras. The terminations were stalled in court, and when Biden took office he reversed the course and expanded protections to include people from other countries, including Venezuela.
