Attorney General Letitia James is taking a stand for Venezuelan immigrants. Co-heading a coalition of 17 attorneys general, she’s challenging the Trump administration's move to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for these individuals, as reported by the New York Office of the Attorney General. TPS, a program initiated in 1990 by Congress, is designed to prevent the forced return of immigrants to countries deemed unsafe, offering them a chance to work and live safely in the U.S. This safety net is now hanging by a thread for countless Venezuelans.
Amid fears of uprooting life as they know it, seen by those with TPS as a sword hanging over their heads, these immigrants face difficult choices. According to the Office of the Attorney General, about 56,800 TPS holders reside in New York, with over 600,000 from Venezuela nationwide as of January 2025. Should their protected status disappear, these individuals would grapple with either returning to a precarious reality in Venezuela, dragging their American citizen family members into an unfamiliar danger, or fading into the shadows of American society, where work becomes illegal and separation from family a constant threat.
In an amicus brief for the case National TPS Alliance v. Noem, Attorney General James together with her counterparts urged the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to maintain a lower court's pause on the DHS's termination of TPS for Venezuelan immigrants. The coalition backs the district court's view that this move is likely arbitrary and unlawful, emphasizing the significant contributions of TPS holders to the economy. "The Department of Homeland Security’s decision to strip TPS from Venezuelan immigrants is an affront to our nation’s core values and a dangerous attempt to undermine the rule of law," Attorney General James stated, as asserted by the Office of the Attorney General's press release.
Beyond economic impacts, revoking TPS raises public health stakes, endangering employer-sponsored health insurance. With public safety dangling on a fine line, TPS allows immigrants to freely assist law enforcement without risking their status. Venezuelan immigrants, who are traditionally strong on community ties, if left without legal status, become hesitant to report crimes, crimping efforts to ensure community safety. Not to mention, applicants for TPS undergo extensive criminal and background checks, solidifying their reliability as members of society.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and others—attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia—joined forces with James. All argue in the brief, based on 52 sources quoted by former DHS Secretary Mayorkas, that Venezuela remains in a humanitarian crisis. In stark contrast, the claim of the current DHS Secretary Kristi Noem citing "notable improvements" in Venezuela is countered by the country’s continued placement on the U.S. Department of State’s "Level 4: Do Not Travel" list, as per the Office of the Attorney General.
