Venezuelan civic groups and several migrants have filed a federal lawsuit in Boston federal court against US immigration agencies, accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans.The Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, Democracy Forward and three migrants have filed a law suit in Boston Federal Court against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).The plaintiffs allege that President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem abruptly and illegally terminated TPS protections that had been expanded under former President Joe Biden.According to the plaintiffs, in April DHS sent a mass email to TPS holders stating, “It is time for you to leave the United States.” They argue that many recipients have valid work permits and other documentation allowing them to remain in the country and that TPS revocation should be decided on a case-by-case basis. They say the sudden change disrupts lives, careers and puts people at risk of deportation.“As a community-based organization, we have seen firsthand the direct harm this sudden policy inflicts on people who arrived lawfully, complied with every DHS requirement, including the CBP One process, and worked hard to build stable lives for their families,” said Carlina Velázquez and Carlos Martín Medina of the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, as reported by Fox News.Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman called the decision part of an “assault on immigrants who have followed the rules,” describing it as “cruelty” toward vulnerable people.“Let me be clear: none of this is about immigration, it’s about cruelty and the targeting of people in vulnerable circumstances,” Perryman claimed.“Our clients used the CBP One app because DHS required it. To now strip them of their rights and threaten them with deportation is a gross violation of the law and public trust.”TPS for Venezuelans was first granted by former President Biden in 2021 due to humanitarian concerns over Venezuela’s political and economic crisis. The program was expanded in 2023 to cover about 350,000 additional migrants. After President Trump took office, Noem revoked the 2023 extension, setting in motion the cancellation of TPS protections.The policy has been the subject of multiple court rulings. In April, Judge Edward Milton Chen temporarily blocked the termination, but the US Supreme Court overturned that order in May. Chen later ruled that existing work permits could not be canceled retroactively. The Trump administration’s appeal is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin dismissed the lawsuit as “a desperate attempt to keep half a million poorly vetted illegal aliens in this country and undermine President Trump’s constitutional authority to enforce America’s immigration laws.”“The Biden administration abused its parole authority to create an industrial-scale catch-and-release scheme, and the Trump administration is correcting that,” she added.“This lawsuit is an insult to the tens of millions of Americans who gave this president a mandate to restore safety and common sense to our immigration system.”
