LOS ANGELES – Attorneys representing the National TPS Alliance and individual Venezuelan TPS holders asked a federal appeals court to allow a 2025 district court ruling to take effect and restore Temporary Protected Status (TPS). 

The request comes as a stay of the district court order issued in October 2025 by the U.S. Supreme Court as part of its shadow docket, is set to expire in November. The government is seeking to extend the stay, which has had devastating consequences for 600,000 Venezuelans with TPS. 

Carlos Sanchez Villa, a Venezuelan TPS holder and father of two children in the United States, was deported to Liberia in August 2026, after an immigration judge prohibited the government from deporting him to Venezuela due to risks to his life. “I had no prior connection to Liberia, or anywhere else in Africa . . . I am separated from my wife and teenage children, and my life is in ruins,” he recounted in a declaration to the court. 

At issue is the September 2025 district court order which held that then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s attempt to strip Venezuelans of TPS was illegal because it failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). One month later, the Supreme Court stayed that ruling in an unreasoned three-paragraph order. Now the government is seeking a new stay. 

Attorneys for TPS holders and the National TPS Alliance oppose the Trump administration’s request and filed, for the first time, declarations about the dangerous effects of the termination. These include a father of two who was deported to Liberia after winning immigration protection and is now trapped in a country far from home; and other Venezuelan TPS holders deported to Venezuela and Mexico. The declarations also describe the stories of a Venezuelan TPS holder who died in ICE custody and another who was killed only days after being deported. 

The legal team for the National TPS Alliance and Venezuelan TPS holders provided the following statement: “What we have seen over the past year is that the unlawful stripping of TPS has led to family separation, instability, deportations to a country in crisis, and removals of Venezuelan TPS holders to countries to which they have no ties. It must stop.” 

“The TPS terminations have had devastating effects on individuals, families and communities. We will not stop fighting to hold this administration accountable, and to make sure that TPS holders are protected,” said Jose Palma, the coordinator of the National TPS Alliance, lead plaintiff in the case. 

If the Supreme Court’s stay expires and no new stay is issued, this would mean the district court order would go into effect, restoring TPS for an estimated 600,000 Venezuelans who face life or death consequences under the current administration’s policies. Venezuela was designated for TPS in 2021 and 2023 because of the country’s devastating humanitarian crisis, which continues today. 

The plaintiffs are represented by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the ACLU Foundations of Northern California and Southern California, and the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. 

The Supreme Court allowed the termination of TPS for Haitians and Syrians earlier this year, but the ruling did not directly address the order in NTPSA v. Noem, which includes distinct issues. 

Read the court filing HERE. Read the declarations HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

About UCLA CILP:

Founded in 2020, the Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law expands the law school's role as a national leader in immigration law and policy, generating innovative ideas at the intersection of immigration scholarship and practice and serving as a hub for transforming those ideas into meaningful changes in immigration policy. 

Follow the Miñana Center on Instagram (@uclaminana), Bluesky, or sign up for our emails.