US President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to remove legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans as part of his plans to start mass deportations.
This decision comes after a federal judge in San Francisco has extended their temporary protection status (TPS), which was to expire in April.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to stop deportations to countries torn apart by civilian conflicts or suffering from natural disasters.
Explaining his decision, the district judge Edward Chen said that the lifting of protection would disrupt hundreds of thousands of lives and would cost the economy of billions of lost economic activities.
The US government has challenged the decision, which, according to her, interferes with her power over immigration and foreign affairs.
The Trump administration raised the question of the Supreme Court on Thursday, the same day, a federal judge in Texas said that the president had misused a law in times of war of the 18th century.
Fernando Rodriguez Jr, who was appointed by Trump in 2018, judged that the use by the President of the Extraterrestrial Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) to expel the Venezuelans was “illegal” and that migrants could not be expelled from Texas by virtue of it.
Trump invoked the law earlier this year saying that the United States was “invaded” by the Venezuelan gang Tren of Aragua.
“The proclamation makes no reference and in no way suggests that a threat exists of an organized armed group of people entering the United States towards Venezuela to conquer the country or assume control of part of the nation,” wrote Rodriguez.
“Thus, the language of proclamation cannot be read as describing a conduct which is the meaning of” invasion “for the end of the AEA.”
Responding to development, vice-president JD Vance said that the administration would “aggressively” appeal the decision.
“The judge does not make this decision, if the law on extraterrestrial enemies can be deployed,” said Vance. “I think the President of the United States is the one who determines if this country is invaded.”
