Appeals Court Rules Noem Illegally Ended Venezuelan TPS

Late Wednesday a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when she ended Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals, but the decision will not have immediate effect because the U.S. Supreme Court left the terminations in place in Oct. 2025, the panel's opinion said.

The terminations stripped legal status from 268,156 Venezuelan nationals and terminated 3,738 pending initial applications and 102,935 pending renewal applications, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services figures show.

Ninth Circuit Judge Kim Wardlaw wrote that Noem's "unlawful actions have had real and significant consequences," and Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr. wrote there was "ample evidence of racial and national origin animus," while government attorneys argue the secretary has broad authority and deny animus, court filings show.

The panel also upheld a lower court finding that Noem exceeded her authority when she moved to end TPS early for Haiti, a step that officials say could affect roughly 353,000 Haitian nationals whose protections are set to expire in February, according to agency statements.

A federal judge in Washington is expected to rule any day now on a request to pause the Haiti termination, and the U.S. Supreme Court's pending review could determine whether Noem's TPS terminations are ultimately upheld, filings and court schedules show.