415 events on record Subscribe June 26, 2026
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DHS Secretary Noem terminated 2021 TPS designation for Venezuela, stripping deportation protection from ~250,000 Venezuelans

On September 3, 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the 2021 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela, affecting approximately 250,000 Venezuelans enrolled under the Biden-era grant. Noem cited "national interest" and determined Venezuela no longer met TPS statutory requirements, setting an effective end date of November 7, 2025. A federal court blocked the termination within three days on September 6, 2025, finding the administration likely lacked statutory authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Jurisdiction
federal
Location
Nationwide

Abuses documented

Actors

On September 3, 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of the 2021 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela, stripping deportation protection and work authorization from approximately 250,000 Venezuelans enrolled under the Biden-era grant. Noem determined that conditions in Venezuela "no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements" and that continuation was "contrary to the national interest," setting an effective end date of November 7, 2025. The 2021 designation had been set to expire on September 10, 2025 before the Biden administration extended it; Noem chose not to extend it and announced its termination.

TPS is a statutory program under §244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act that provides deportation protection and employment authorization to nationals of countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. Venezuela has been designated for TPS since 2021 in recognition of its ongoing humanitarian and political crisis. The program does not confer permanent residency, but it allows enrollees to live and work legally in the United States while conditions in their home country persist. The DHS Secretary has discretion to designate, extend, and terminate TPS, but that discretion is constrained by the statutory conditions the INA specifies.

Within three days, on September 6, 2025, a federal court issued a block on the termination, finding the administration likely lacked the statutory authority to end the designation on the grounds Noem stated. The swift judicial intervention indicated that the termination likely failed to meet the INA's reasoned-explanation requirement or exceeded the scope of permissible grounds for termination — a pattern consistent with other immigration enforcement actions that courts found legally deficient under the Trump administration's second term. The Federal Register formally published the termination notice on September 8, 2025, as document FR 2025-17087.

Why we recorded this

Temporary Protected Status is a statutory immigration designation under INA §244 that shields nationals of countries experiencing extraordinary conditions from deportation and authorizes their employment. DHS Secretary Noem terminated the 2021 Venezuela designation, stripping that protection from approximately 250,000 Venezuelans enrolled under the Biden-era grant, effective November 7, 2025. A federal court issued a block within three days, finding the administration likely lacked statutory authority — a sign that the government acted beyond the bounds the INA sets for TPS determinations.

Sources

  1. DHS Terminates 2021 Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status — U.S. Department of Homeland Security primary accessed June 23, 2026
  2. Termination of the 2021 Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status — Federal Register primary accessed June 23, 2026
  3. Judge blocks Trump administration ending of protections for Venezuelans and Haitians — NPR secondary accessed June 23, 2026

See also