US judge prevents Trump from invalidating 5,000 Venezuelans' legal documents
NEW YORK: A federal judge prevented the Trump administration from invalidating work permits and other documents granting lawful status to about 5,000 Venezuelans, a subset of the nearly 350,000 whose temporary legal protections the US Supreme Court last week allowed to be terminated.
US District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco in a Friday night ruling concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likely exceeded her authority when she in February invalidated those documents while more broadly ending the temporary protected status granted to the Venezuelans.
The US Supreme Court on May 19 lifted an earlier order Chen issued that prevented the administration as part of President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration agenda from terminating deportation protection conferred to Venezuelans under the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, program.
But the high court stated specifically it was not preventing any Venezuelans from still challenging Noem's related decision to invalidate documents they were issued pursuant to that program that allowed them to work and live in the United States.
Such documents were issued after the US Department of Homeland Security in the final days of Democratic President Joe Biden's tenure extended the TPS program for the Venezuelans by 18 months to October 2026, an action Noem then moved to reverse.
TPS is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event.
Lawyers for several Venezuelans and the advocacy group National TPS Alliance asked Chen to recognize the continuing validity of those documents, saying without them thousands of migrants could lose their jobs or be deported.
Chen in siding with them said nothing in the statute that authorized the Temporary Protected Status program allowed Noem to invalidate the documents.
Chen, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, noted the administration estimated only about 5,000 of the 350,000 Venezuelans held such documents. 'This smaller number cuts against any contention that the continued presence of these TPS holders who were granted TPS-related documents by the Secretary would be a toll on the national or local economies or a threat to national security,' Chen wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Chen ruled hours after the US Supreme Court in a different case allowed Trump's administration to end the temporary immigration 'parole' granted to 532,000 Venezuelan, Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan migrants under a different Biden-era program.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Pakistani delegation arrives in New York to meet UN officials, OIC members after India standoff
ISLAMABAD: A nine-member Pakistani delegation led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has arrived in New York to meet top United Nations officials and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members, state-run media reported on Monday, as Islamabad prepares to present its perspective on its recent military standoff with arch-rival India. Constituted by the Pakistani prime minister last month, the delegation received a briefing from the foreign office on Pakistan's military standoff with India last month. Bhutto Zardari said his team also received a briefing from the foreign office on contentious issues like the Kashmir dispute, 'terrorism,' and India's unilateral move to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan and India last month engaged in the most serious fighting between them since 1999. Both pounded each other with missiles, drone strikes and artillery fire in four days of conflict before US President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire on May 10. Tensions had soared after India blamed Pakistan for being involved in an April 22 attack on a tourist resort in the part of Kashmir administered by India. Islamabad denied involvement. 'A nine-member parliamentary delegation led by Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is in New York to hold meetings with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly, as well as the Ambassadors of Permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security-Council,' state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 'During the visit, the delegation will present Pakistan's perspective on the recent military clash with India and to counter New Delhi's disinformation campaign.' It did not specify how long the delegation would stay in New York. The state broadcaster said that besides these meetings, the delegation will also brief members of the OIC at the UN. Bhutto Zardari, along with other members of the delegation, will also interact with media representatives during his visit to New York. The development takes place as India presents its point of view to the world on its recent conflict with Pakistan. The Indian government has appointed Congress party lawmaker and author Shashi Tharoor as the head of a delegation in its attempts to convince world capitals that Pakistan supports cross-border 'terrorism' and to justify New Delhi's attacks against its neighboring country last month. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought two out of three wars over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir since 1947. Both govern the territory in parts but claim its ownership in full. India accuses Pakistan of harboring militants who carry out cross-border attacks targeting citizens and law enforcers in the Kashmir territory that it administers. Pakistan denies the allegations and says it only extends diplomatic and moral support to the people of Kashmir. While the ceasefire between the two countries has continued to hold since last month, tensions persist as India vows to hold in abeyance the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty. Pakistan has said any attempts to divert or stop its flow of water would be considered an 'act of war.'
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Multiple burn injuries after attack on Gaza war protest in US
Several people suffered burns and other injuries Sunday in the US state of Colorado in what the FBI called a 'targeted terror attack' against demonstrators seeking the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Police in the city of Boulder said a man was taken into custody. They were more cautious in presuming a possible motive for the attack, which multiple sources said was committed against members of the Jewish community during a peaceful gathering. Local media cited eyewitnesses describing a man throwing something resembling a homemade Molotov cocktail at the group. In one video apparently of the attack, a shirtless man holding clear bottles in his hands is seen pacing as the grass in front of him burns. He can be heard screaming 'End Zionists!' 'Palestine is Free!' and 'They are killers!' towards several people in red t-shirts as they tend to a person lying on the ground. Other images showed billowing black smoke above a park. 'We are aware of and fully investigating a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado,' FBI chief Kash Patel said on X. The White House said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident. Asked if it was a terror attack against the protesters, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn insisted it was 'way too early to speculate motive' behind the violence, which took place shortly before 1:30 pm (1930 GMT). He told reporters that 'initial callers indicated that there was a man with a weapon and that people were being set on fire.' 'When we arrived, we encountered multiple victims that were injured, with injuries consistent with burns and other injuries,' Redfearn said. Police on the scene 'immediately encountered that suspect, who was taken into custody without incident,' he added. 'Antisemitic attack' The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, said on X that the attack occurred at Sunday's 'Boulder Run for Their Lives' event, a weekly gathering of the Jewish community in support of the hostages seized during Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, voiced outrage at the incident. 'Terrorism against Jews does not stop at the Gaza border -- it is already burning the streets of America,' he said in a statement, describing how people marching for the return of hostages were attacked by someone 'throwing... Molotov cocktails.' 'Make no mistake -- this is not a political protest, this is terrorism.' US Secretary of State Marco Rubio weighed in, like Patel describing the incident as a 'targeted terror attack.' 'Terror has no place in our great country,' Rubio said. Several organizations decried the apparent hate-fueled violence. 'Today, during a peaceful walk on Pearl Street in Boulder to raise awareness for the hostages still in Gaza, our community was targeted in a violent, antisemitic attack,' the Israeli-American Council said in a statement. 'This is an attack on all of us -- and we will not stay silent,' it added. The Boulder violence comes almost two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, where a 31-year-old suspect who shouted 'Free Palestine' was taken into custody by police.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
6 injured in Colorado attack the FBI is investigating as terrorism
BOULDER, Colorado: The suspect in an attack in Boulder, Colorado, that injured six yelled 'Free Palestine' and used a makeshift flamethrower, the FBI said. Mark Michalek, the special agent in charge of the Denver field office, said federal law enforcement is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. The suspect, identified by the FBI as 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman, was taken into custody. No charges were immediately announced but officials said they expect to hold him 'fully accountable.' The attack took place at a popular pedestrian mall in Boulder where demonstrators with a volunteer group called Run For Their Lives had gathered to raise visibility for the hostages who remain in Gaza as a war between Israel and Hamas continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. Video from the scene showed a witness shouting, 'He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails,' as a police officer with his gun drawn advanced on a bare-chested suspect with containers in each hand. Injuries ranged from serious to minor. Soliman was also injured and was taken to the hospital to be treated, but authorities didn't elaborate on the nature of his injuries. The attack occurred more than a week after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington by a Chicago man who yelled 'I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza' as he was being led away by police. FBI leaders in Washington said they were treating the Boulder attack as an act of terrorism, and the Justice Department — which leads investigations into acts of violence driven by religious, racial or ethnic motivations — decried the attack as a 'needless act of violence, which follows recent attacks against Jewish Americans.' 'This act of terror is being investigated as an act of ideologically motivated violence based on the early information, the evidence, and witness accounts. We will speak clearly on these incidents when the facts warrant it,' FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a post on X. Israel's war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israel's military campaign has killed over 54,000 people in Hamas-run Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. The offensive has destroyed vast areas, displaced around 90 percent of the population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid. Police in Boulder were more circumspect about a motive. Police Chief Steve Redfearn said it 'would be irresponsible for me to speculate' while witnesses were still being interviewed but noted that the group that had gathered in support of the hostages had assembled peacefully and that injuries of the victims — ranging from serious to minor — were consistent with them having been set on fire. The violence comes four years after a shooting rampage at a grocery store in Boulder, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Denver, that killed four people. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison for murder after a jury rejected his attempt to avoid prison time by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. Multiple blocks of the pedestrian mall area were evacuated by police. The scene shortly after the attack was tense, as law enforcement agents with a police dog walked through the streets looking for threats and instructed the public to stay clear of the pedestrian mall. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that he was 'closely monitoring' the situation, adding that 'hate-filled acts of any kind are unacceptable.'
