United States | Venezuela and Haiti TPS termination litigation update

On Jan. 28, 2026, in National TPS Alliance et al. v. Noem et al., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that set aside certain orders by the Department of Homeland Security vacating and terminating the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela and partially vacating TPS for Haiti, finding that the secretary of Homeland Security exceeded her authority under the TPS statute.

Key Points:

• In reaffirming the district court’s ruling setting aside the Venezuelan TPS vacatur and termination, and the Haitian TPS partial vacatur, the 9th Circuit held that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “exceeded her authority under the TPS statute [8 U.S.C. § 1254a]” when she:
  • Terminated Venezuela’s 2023 TPS designation more than a year before its statutory end date
  • Partially vacated Haiti’s July 2024 TPS extension
  • Vacated the January 2025 TPS extension for Venezuela
• Despite the appellate court’s finding that “the Secretary’s unlawful actions … fundamentally contradict Congress’s statutory design, and her assertion of a raw, unchecked power to vacate a country’s TPS is irreconcilable with the plain language of the statute,” the decision has no immediate practical effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s emergency stay order issued Oct. 3, 2025.
• Therefore, the information on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services TPS webpage is up to date and those TPS termination timelines remain in effect.

Additional Information: Employers are encouraged to consult with their BAL attorney for case-specific guidance. Litigation remains ongoing, and BAL will continue to monitor and provide updates as more information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

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