A federal court Monday March 31, 2025 blocked the Republican administration’s attempt to strip a Culver City woman and other Venezuelan migrants of lawful immigration status. The plaintiffs include Hendrina Castillo, who lives in Culver City and works as a driver. She said in February that she is “terrified” of going back to Venezuela and does not know what she will do if her status is terminated, according to the lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Ed Chen’s ruling in the Northern District of California protects almost 350,000 Venezuelan holders of Temporary Protected Status who were set to lose work authorization on April 3, 2025, and deportation protections on April 7.
Because of this legal judgement, they will instead retain their humanitarian protections while the case proceeds.
Turning in a 78-page ruling, Chen ruled that the revocation threatens to inflict irreparable harm on hundreds of thousands “whose lives, families, and livelihoods will be severely disrupted, cost the United States billions in economic activity, and injure public health and safety in communities throughout the United States. At the same time, the government has failed to identify any real countervailing harm in continuing TPS for Venezuelan beneficiaries.”
The judge also sided with plaintiffs in finding that “they will likely succeed in demonstrating that the actions taken by the [Republican administration] are unauthorized by law, arbitrary and capricious, and motivated by unconstitutional animus.”
City News Service
