The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 Venezuelan nationals living in the United States, a move that could lead to widespread deportations and loss of work authorization for those affected.

In a brief order, the Court stayed a March 31 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that had blocked DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s move to rescind TPS protections for Venezuelans. The stay will remain in effect while the government appeals to the Ninth Circuit and, if necessary, until the Supreme Court decides whether to take up the case itself.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, saying she would have denied the government’s request for a stay.

The decision immediately affects roughly 350,000 Venezuelans who received TPS in 2023, leaving them at risk of deportation and unable to work legally in the United States. These individuals had been granted protection due to ongoing instability and humanitarian crises in Venezuela. The ruling does not affect about 250,000 Venezuelans who received TPS in 2021, nor does it impact the 500,000 Haitian TPS holders whose status is set to expire later this year under a separate policy.

TPS provides temporary legal status and work permits to nationals of countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. The Biden administration had extended TPS for Venezuelans through October 2026, but Secretary Noem, appointed under the Trump administration, moved to revoke the extension in February, arguing the law allowed for early termination. Plaintiffs, including the National TPS Alliance and several individuals, sued, arguing that the move was unlawful and motivated by racial bias.

A federal judge initially sided with the plaintiffs, finding that the early termination likely violated federal law and appeared to be motivated by discriminatory intent. That ruling is now on hold due to the Supreme Court’s intervention.

The stay will remain in effect until the Ninth Circuit rules on the government’s appeal and, if the Supreme Court agrees to review the case, until it issues a final judgment. If the Supreme Court declines to hear the case, the stay will end automatically, and the district court’s order could be reinstated.