type: timeline_event
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed the district court's ruling in National TPS Alliance v. Noem, holding that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her statutory authority by vacating previously granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Venezuela and prematurely terminating TPS for Haiti. The court held the TPS statute at 8 U.S.C. § 1254a does not grant the Secretary power to vacate existing TPS designations or partially vacate TPS extensions.
The decision affects an estimated 600,000 Venezuelan TPS holders whose protection was revoked by Noem in February 2025, along with Haitian TPS holders scheduled for termination on February 3, 2026. The Ninth Circuit found the Secretary's actions invalid under the Administrative Procedure Act as exceeding statutory authority, rejecting government arguments that judicial review was barred by statutory limitations on injunctive relief.
The ruling's practical impact remains limited because the Supreme Court previously stayed emergency relief on the shadow docket in October 2025, allowing TPS revocations to proceed despite lower court findings of illegality. As the Ninth Circuit observed, Noem's actions "have had real and significant consequences for the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans" who lost protection and work authorization, leading to job loss, detention, deportation, and family separation.
The case, brought by the National TPS Alliance with representation from ACLU Foundations of Northern California and Southern California, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and Haitian Bridge Alliance, challenges the terminations as unconstitutionally motivated by racial animus and arbitrary agency action. The district court remains free to issue final relief following the appellate guidance, though TPS holders continue facing detention and deportation under the Supreme Court's shadow docket authorization permitting enforcement of unlawful revocations pending final resolution.