WASHINGTON — On Friday, a federal appeals court halted President Donald Trump’s efforts to terminate protections for 600,000 Venezuelans residing and working in the United States. The court indicated that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail in their argument that the Republican administration’s actions were illegal.

A panel consisting of three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a prior ruling that kept temporary protected status (TPS) in place for Venezuelans while they contest the actions taken by the Trump administration in court.

The 9th Circuit judges determined that the plaintiffs stand a good chance of succeeding in their claim that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to nullify or overturn a previous extension of TPS. They noted that the statute established by Congress does not allow for such actions. The Democratic administration of President Joe Biden had already extended TPS for Venezuelans.

“When establishing the TPS statute, Congress crafted a structure for temporary status that was reliable, predictable, and insulated from partisan politics,” wrote Judge Kim Wardlaw, nominated by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, on behalf of the panel. The other judges on the panel were also appointed by Democratic presidents.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security blasted the decision as more obstruction from “unelected activist” judges.

“The TPS program has been manipulated, misused, and politicized as a quasi-amnesty initiative for decades,” an email stated. “Although this injunction delays rightful action and hinders the integrity of our immigration system, Secretary Noem will pursue all legal avenues available to bring about order and ensure the safety of Americans.”

Congress included temporary protected status, or TPS, in the Immigration Act of 1990. It enables the DHS secretary to provide legal immigration status to individuals escaping countries facing civil unrest, environmental disasters, or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that impede their safe return. The terms last for six, 12, or 18 months.

The appellate judges said the guaranteed time limitations were critical so people could gain employment, find long-term housing and build stability without fear of shifting political winds.

But in ending the protections soon after Trump took office, Noem said conditions in Venezuela had improved and it was not in the U.S. national interest to allow migrants from there to stay on for what is a temporary program. It’s part of a broader move by Trump’s administration to reduce the number of immigrants who are in the country either without legal documentation or through legal temporary programs.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found in March that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the administration had overstepped its authority in terminating the protections. Chen postponed the terminations, but the Supreme Court reversed him without explanation, which is common in emergency appeals.

It is unclear what effect Friday’s ruling will have on the estimated 350,000 Venezuelans in the group of 600,000 whose protections expired in April. Their lawyers say some have already been fired from jobs, detained in immigration jails, separated from their U.S. citizen children and even deported.

Protections for the remaining 250,000 Venezuelans are set to expire Sept. 10.

“What is really significant now is that the second court unanimously recognized that the trial court got it right,” said Emi MacLean, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California representing plaintiffs.

She added that while the decision might not benefit immediately those people who have already lost their status or are about to lose their status, Friday’s ruling “should provide a path for the administration’s illegal actions related to Venezuela and TPS to finally be undone.”

A court declaration provided by plaintiffs showed the turmoil caused by the Trump administration and Supreme Court decision.

A Washington woman who worked in restaurants was deported in June along with her daughters, 10 years and 15 months old, after ICE officers told her to bring her children to an immigration check-in. The father of the baby, who is a U.S. citizen, remains in the U.S. while the woman tries to figure out what to do.

Also in June, a FedEx employee appeared in uniform at his required immigration check-in only to be detained, the court declaration states. He slept for about two weeks on a floor, terrified he would be sent to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. His wife cannot maintain the household on her earnings.

“I am not a criminal,” he said in the declaration, adding that “immigrants like myself come to the United States to work hard and contribute, and instead our families and lives are being torn apart.”

Millions of Venezuelans have fled political unrest, mass unemployment and hunger. Their country is mired in a prolonged crisis brought on by years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement and an ineffectual government.

Attorneys for the U.S. government argued the Homeland Security secretary’s clear and broad authority to make determinations related to the TPS program were not subject to judicial review. They also denied that Noem’s actions were motivated by racial animus.

But the appellate judges said courts clearly had jurisdiction in cases where the actions were unlawful. They declined to address whether Noem was motivated by racial animus.

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