A federal appeals court has declined an emergency motion from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to lift a lower court order concerning a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela.

LeadingAge previously reported that a California federal district court judge issued an order March 31 that blocks, temporarily, a decision by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to terminate a 2023 designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and that DHS had immediately appealed the judge’s order to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Individuals covered by the 2023 designation were set to lose their status as of April 7.

As part of its filings, DHS filed an emergency motion on April 4 asking the appeals court to lift the temporary block imposed by the district court – in other words, to allow DHS to begin implementing its policy – while the parties proceed to submit their respective legal arguments about the underlying issues and the government’s authority to take the action it did. On April 18, two Ninth Circuit judges denied the government’s emergency motion.

The next steps in the case are for DHS to file its opening appellate brief on April 30 and for the plaintiffs challenging DHS to file its responding brief on May 28. The appeals court intends to place the case on its July calendar, meaning the district court’s order will remain in place at least until then.

Also, the plaintiffs have amended their complaint at the district court level to add a challenge to the DHS action on the TPS designation for Haiti.  LeadingAge will continue to follow developments in the case.