Appeals Court Says DHS Order to End Protections for Venezuelans in US Was Illegal

The judges for the Ninth Circuit, in a 3–0 order, ruled that the program has ‘procedural safeguards’ in place.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference in the National Response Coordination Center at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, DC, on Jan. 24, 2026. Al Drago/Getty Images

A U.S. appeals court on Jan. 28 ruled that the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) move to end deportation protection for tens of thousands of Venezuelan nationals was illegal.

A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem overstepped her authority when she ended the temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals who were living in the United States.