In a striking move, US District Court Judge Edward Chen, appointed by Obama, has thrown a wrench into the gears of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling. Ignoring the high court’s decision, Judge Chen has mandated the Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) to release documents regarding the controversial revocation of protected status for a significant number of Venezuelan migrants. The judge’s insistence on a deadline for compliance tonight seems to suggest he has little regard for the Supreme Court’s authority on this matter.
UPDATE: Judge Chen in SF insists on deadline tonight for Trump administration to turn over documents related to decision to curtail TPS for Venezuelans. #SCOTUS ruling today not a factor, judge says. Earlier: https://t.co/vD2PW3lIfX pic.twitter.com/TbjCz8mUqj
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) May 20, 2025
This legal tug-of-war comes on the heels of the US Supreme Court allowing the Trump Administration to proceed with its plan to revoke ‘protected status’ for around 350,000 Venezuelans currently residing in the United States. The high court’s ruling effectively clears the way for the administration to strip these individuals of their protections, signaling a significant shift in immigration policy.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stood alone in dissenting against the Supreme Court’s decision, highlighting the contentious nature of this ruling. Earlier this year, Judge Chen had placed a stay on Trump’s order to rescind Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans, who had arrived under Biden’s parole program. His earlier intervention temporarily halted Trump’s intentions to dismantle Biden’s TPS provisions.
The DOJ has argued that these parole programs are discretionary, thus granting the government latitude in deciding when to cut such programs. Reports have indicated that President Trump’s plans could potentially affect the legal status of up to 532,000 migrants admitted to the US via Biden’s parole initiative.
It’s worth noting that Biden’s administration brought in over half a million migrants from countries including Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela through the CHNV program. Furthermore, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics reveal that over 1 million individuals have entered the US through what the Biden administration has labeled as “legal” channels, raising questions about the effectiveness and implications of current immigration policies.
These figures do not encompass the larger influx of undocumented migrants that have crossed the border during Biden’s tenure. Alarmingly, it has been reported that approximately 81% of Haitian migrants from the parole program—362,000 out of 448,000—were settled in politically conservative states.
In a tragic twist, one individual who entered the US through Biden’s parole program was later charged with triple murder, including the deaths of two children, casting a shadow over the safety implications of such immigration policies. In response to the ongoing chaos, President Trump has threatened to revoke the migrants’ legal status, warning those who do not voluntarily depart that they face arrest.
