On March 31, a California federal judge issued an order that blocks, temporarily, a decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to terminate a 2023 designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

As explained in this background article, there are two groups of Venezuelans registered under and covered by separate TPS designations (one from 2021 and one from 2023). Individuals covered by the 2023 designation were set to lose their temporary protected status as of April 7, but a group of plaintiffs challenging the Department’s decision have successfully argued that the court should temporarily postpone the effective date of Secretary Noem’s actions while the underlying case and legal arguments proceed. On April 1, the Department of Homeland Security has filed an appeal of this judge’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In a related development, the plaintiffs have amended their original complaint to include a challenge to the Department’s actions relating to the TPS designation for Haiti, which is now set to expire on August 3, 2025.