Pasadena, California - A federal appeals court on Wednesday heard arguments in a legal challenge to the Trump administration's bid to end Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Venezuela.

Immigrants' rights advocates urged the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the Trump administration's efforts to vacate TPS extensions and end deportation protections for nationals of the two countries.

Wednesday's hearing took place less than two weeks after US forces invaded Venezuela, bombed the capital city of Caracas, and abducted President Nicolas Maduro.

"Today's hearing comes as hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans live in fear, uncertain if this administration will deport them back to a country that is suffering and near economic collapse," Ahilan Arulanantham, faculty co-director at the UCLA Center for Immigration Law & Policy, said in a statement.

"We hope the court will insist the administration comply with the law as Congress intended it to by engaging in an objective assessment of the country conditions in Venezuela."

TPS is a temporary legal status granted to nationals of designated countries who cannot safely return due to war, natural disasters, or other "extraordinary" conditions. Venezuela received its first TPS designation in 2021 and Haiti in 2010.

"Today, hundreds of thousands of TPS holders and their families are placing their hope in the legal system and specifically in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals," said National TPS Alliance Coordinator Jose Palma.

"The lower court has recognized the illegality of the Trump administration’s termination of TPS, and this protection should continue. We urge the court to uphold the law and protect TPS holders and their families."

President Donald Trump attempted to terminate TPS in his first term, but a successful legal challenge kept the protections in place.

Since returning to the White House, Trump and his administration have once again sought to strip the protections for Venezuela, Haiti, and nine more countries as part of a wider assault on immigrant communities.

Immigrants' rights advocates filed the NTPSA v. Noem lawsuit in February 2025 challenging the sudden revocation of TPS for Venezuelans. It was later amended to include Haiti.

The complaint accuses the Department of Homeland Security of violating the Administrative Procedure Act, which does not permit early terminations. It also argues that the withdrawal is motivated by racial animus, in violation of the US Constitution.

The US Supreme Court in October gave the Trump administration the green light to end deportation protections for Venezuelan TPS holders.

A lower court had previously blocked the US government from terminating TPS for Haiti and Venezuela and ordered the administration to comply with the decision.

"With the end of TPS looming, my family and I are facing tremendous uncertainty," said Sherika Blanc, a Haitian plaintiff and mother of four American citizen children who has lived in the US since she was eight years old.

"I will continue to stand up and fight for the dignity that all people, including immigrants, deserve," Blanc insisted. "TPS has been our lifeline, allowing me to live in safety and build a life – to work, pay taxes, and raise my children."

Cecilia Gonzalez, a Venezuelan TPS holder, said, "My home country is in absolute crisis. This is exactly the type of situation that TPS was created to address. Being part of this lawsuit has given me hope. We will continue to fight for justice, whatever the obstacles."