Washington DC - A federal appeals court temporarily blocked the Trump administration on Friday from stripping legal protections from some 600,000 Venezuelans living in the US.

A federal judge in California put a temporary stay in March on the administration's plans to end temporary protected status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals.

US District Judge Edward Chen said the plan to end TPS for Venezuelan nationals "smacks of racism" and mischaracterizes them as criminals.

A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling shielding the Venezuelans from deportation while the case continues.

Donald Trump Trump lashes out after judge makes significant ruling on Utah congressional map

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. RFK Jr. lashes out at CDC over Covid response after firing its director

"In enacting the TPS statute, Congress designed a system of temporary status that was predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics," Judge Kim Wardlaw said.

"Plaintiffs have demonstrated that they face irreparable harm to their lives, families, and livelihood."

The US grants TPS to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters, or other "extraordinary" conditions.

Former president Joe Biden extended TPS for Venezuelans for 18 months just days before Trump returned to the White House in January, citing ongoing crises in the South American country under longtime ruler Nicolas Maduro.

The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration in May to temporarily end TPS for Venezuelans while the case was being heard in the appeals court.

The administration is expected to appeal the 9th Circuit's ruling to the conservative-dominated top court.