Supreme Court Wipes Out Ninth Circuit TPS Ruling, Sending Venezuelan and Haitian Case Back for Another Look

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, Oct. 5, erased the federal appeals court decision that had declared the government's termination of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and Haitians unlawful, sending the case back to the Ninth Circuit for a fresh look under the justices' June ruling that sharply limits court review of TPS decisions. The order did not decide whether the terminations were legal, but it removes the last appellate ruling that had sided with TPS holders, a result felt most directly in Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan and Haitian communities in the country.

The action came on the first day of the Court's new term, three days after the final group of Venezuelans with protected work permits saw those documents expire on Friday, Oct. 2.

What the Court did Monday

In its Monday order list, the Court took up the government's petition in Mullin, Secretary of Homeland Security v. National TPS Alliance, docket No. 26-48. The order reads that the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, the judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the Ninth Circuit "for further consideration in light of Mullin v. Doe." Lawyers call this a GVR, short for grant, vacate and remand. It tells a lower court that a newer Supreme Court decision may change the answer, without the justices hearing argument or ruling on the merits themselves.

According to the Supreme Court docket, the Justice Department filed the petition on July 9 after receiving an extension from Justice Elena Kagan. The Court requested a response from the TPS holders in August, the response was filed Aug. 20, and the case was distributed for the justices' conference in September. The Ninth Circuit judgment that was wiped out is dated Jan. 28, 2026; that court declined to rehear the case on March 11.

How Mullin v. Doe changed the ground rules

The decision the Ninth Circuit must now apply came down June 25. In Mullin v. Doe, a 6 to 3 majority led by Justice Samuel Alito held that the TPS statute bars judicial review of nonconstitutional challenges to a Homeland Security secretary's decision to end a country's designation. That case involved Haiti, with roughly 350,000 beneficiaries nationwide, and Syria, with about 6,000. The majority also found the Haitian challengers' equal protection claim unlikely to succeed. Justice Kagan dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The ruling matters for the Venezuelan case because the Ninth Circuit's January decision rested on the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal law governing how agencies act. Under Mullin v. Doe, those kinds of statutory claims are now largely off limits in TPS cases, leaving constitutional claims as the main avenue still open to challengers.

A case that began in San Francisco

The National TPS Alliance case was filed in early 2025 in federal court in San Francisco after then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to undo the Biden administration's January 2025 extension of protections for Venezuelans. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen blocked the move on March 31, 2025, and later granted the TPS holders summary judgment in September 2025. The plaintiffs are represented by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the ACLU Foundations of Northern and Southern California, and the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law. The case was later amended to also challenge a shortened extension for Haitians.

The government won at the Supreme Court's emergency stage twice before Monday. On May 19, 2025, the justices let the termination proceed for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans under the 2023 designation, and on Oct. 3, 2025, they paused Chen's summary judgment order. Separately, Noem terminated the 2021 Venezuela designation effective Nov. 7, 2025, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Ninth Circuit still affirmed Chen's rulings, which is the decision now vacated.

What it means for Venezuelans in Florida

For most Venezuelan TPS holders, little changes on the ground, because the earlier stays had already allowed the government to end their status. The group that had held on longest was narrow. USCIS guidance kept work authorization valid through Oct. 2, 2026, only for beneficiaries whose employment authorization documents, approval notices or I-94 records showing that expiration date were issued on or before Feb. 5, 2025. Earlier reporting put that group at about 5,000 people nationwide. Those documents have now expired, and Monday's order means there is no appellate ruling in their favor while the Ninth Circuit reconsiders.

Practically, employers must reverify workers whose documents lapsed, and people without another basis to remain lose protection from removal. Losing TPS does not trigger automatic deportation, but it means a routine encounter with law enforcement can lead to immigration detention and removal proceedings. That risk is sharper in Florida, where local agencies have signed hundreds of 287(g) agreements to assist federal immigration enforcement. Doral, where roughly four in 10 residents report Venezuelan ancestry according to Census-based estimates, approved its own 287(g) agreement unanimously in April 2025, WLRN has reported.

Enforcement has been visible this fall. White House border czar Tom Homan told a conference at Trump National Doral on Oct. 1 that ICE had made nearly 200,000 interior arrests over four months. Removal flights to Caracas, paused after the deadly June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela, resumed in early August, CNN reported. People who lost TPS may still seek asylum, withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture, or pursue family-based petitions if they qualify, immigration attorneys say.

Where Haitian TPS stands

Haitian TPS has already ended. After Mullin v. Doe lifted a lower court's stay, the termination took effect July 27, 2026, and USCIS told employers that TPS-based work permits issued to Haitians in the A12 and C19 categories are no longer valid. About 158,000 Haitian TPS holders lived in Florida, most of them in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to FWD.us estimates cited in news reports.

Envoy Global, an immigration services firm, advised employers that Monday's order brings no immediate change to work authorization for Haitian beneficiaries and that they should continue following existing I-9 guidance. In practice, that guidance already treats the Haitian documents as expired.

Doral organizes ahead of November

The legal setback lands as Venezuelan groups in South Florida turn to the ballot box. On Friday, Oct. 2, a newly formed Coalition of Venezuelans in the USA gathered in Doral to denounce the toll of deportations and pledge to mobilize voters for the Nov. 3 midterms, according to reports by CiberCuba and El Diario. The coalition delivered a letter to Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart signed by 20 organizations and 126 community leaders asking him to publicly address ICE arrests in the area. Helene Villalonga, president of the Multicultural Association of Activists Voice and Expression, led the event, and the group said it would not endorse candidates.

Democrats have made Doral's immigration arrests a campaign theme. Nicole Locklin, the Democrat challenging Diaz-Balart in the 26th District, told reporters in September that people in the community are afraid to go to work or seek medical care, WLRN reported. Some Republicans have also pushed back on specific policies: Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar called for a halt to deportations to Venezuela after the June earthquakes. In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic nominee Angie Nixon has pressed Florida's two Republican senators to protect Haitian TPS holders.

What's next

The case now returns to the Ninth Circuit, which will decide how much of its January ruling survives Mullin v. Doe. With statutory claims largely barred, the remaining question is whether the TPS holders' constitutional arguments, including the claim that the terminations were driven by animus, can proceed. The Supreme Court signaled skepticism of a similar equal protection argument in the Haitian case. No hearing date had been set as of Tuesday.

Outside the courts, the options are legislative. Bills to give long-term TPS holders a path to permanent residence have been filed repeatedly but have not advanced through both chambers of Congress. For Venezuelan and Haitian families in Florida, attorneys recommend reviewing individual eligibility for other forms of relief now rather than waiting for the appeals court to act.