US top court allows lifting of legal protections for Venezuelans

The US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration on Monday to end legal protections that have shielded some 350,000 Venezuelans from potential deportation.

The court granted a request by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to revoke temporary protected status (TPS) for the Venezuelans while an appeal proceeds in a lower court.

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

Solicitor General John Sauer filed an emergency application with the conservative-majority Supreme Court asking it to stay the judge's order.

Former president Joe Biden extended TPS for another 18 months just days before Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.