Well before he took office for a second term, President Donald Trump made clear his intention to reverse much of his predecessor’s immigration policy, including the expansion of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to migrants from a host of countries.
However, the Trump administration suffered a setback last week when a federal judge appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama blocked its attempt to end TPS for over 1.1 million arrivals from Haiti and Venezuela, as Breitbart reports.
It was on Friday that U.S. District Judge Edward Chen put a halt to the Trump administration’s desired changes to TPS eligibility.
In Chen’s estimation, the administration’s change wrongfully “truncated and condensed” the timeline for curtailing the legal protections and work permits afforded to migrants under the program.
In a 69-page ruling, Chen stated, “This case arose from action taken post haste by the current DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem, to revoke the legal status of Venezuelan and Haitian TPS holders, sending them back to conditions that are so dangerous that even the State Department advises against travel to their home countries.”
He further noted, “The Secretary’s action in revoking TPS was not only unprecedented in the manner and speed in which it was taken but also violates the law.”
Though Chen’s halt on the Trump administration action is only temporary in nature, the judge indicated his belief that impacted individuals can renew their current status while litigation is pending, with eventual Supreme Court review likely.
As Fox News reports, Trump administration officials are speaking out against the ruling, promising that the fight to effectuate the president’s vision on this issue will continue.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told Fox News Digital, “For decades, the TPS program has been abused, exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program.”
The representative continued, “Its use has been all the more dangerous, given the millions of unvetted illegal aliens the Biden administration let into this country.”
Pointing to the administration’s next steps, the spokesperson noted, “While this order delays justice, Secretary Noem will use every legal option at the department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans.”
The statement continued, “Under God, the people rule. Unelected activist judges cannot stop the will of the American people for a safe and secure homeland.”
The Trump administration has continued to face court challenges of its immigration agenda, often butting heads with federal district judges who critics suggest are acting more like pro-immigrant activists than fair-minded jurists.
Though the president has seen some success in his appeals of lower court rulings against his immigration-related actions, whether that will be the case when it comes to TPS, only time will tell.
