Appeals court freezes Venezuelan TPS restoration for 14 days, four days after refusing to

A federal appeals court has reversed itself on Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status (TPS), freezing for two weeks an order that was set to restore the protections on Friday, Nov. 6. The reversal came four days after the same court refused to pause that order, Bloomberg Law reported.

The case is National TPS Alliance v. Mullin, No. 25-5724, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, the three-judge panel said it would grant a 14-day administrative stay of its earlier order beginning Friday, Bloomberg Law reported. An administrative stay is a short pause that keeps things as they are while a court decides whether to grant a longer one. Law360 headlined the move as the Ninth Circuit backtracking on Venezuela TPS reinstatement. The full text of the Nov. 3 order was not available to us.

What the court said on Oct. 30

The panel (Judges Kim McLane Wardlaw, Salvador Mendoza Jr. and Anthony D. Johnstone) had ruled differently in a short order filed Oct. 30. It explained that the Supreme Court had, on Oct. 5, 2026, vacated the Ninth Circuit's earlier decision and sent the case back "for further consideration in light of Mullin v. Doe," a 2026 Supreme Court ruling. The Justice Department then asked the Ninth Circuit to pause the district court's order starting Nov. 6, "when the Supreme Court's present stay of the preliminary injunction expires," in the order's words.

"We DENY the Government's motion," the order says. A footnote adds that the panel also denied the government's fallback request for an administrative stay of at least 21 days. The panel said it would set an expedited briefing schedule on the merits "by separate order." The Oct. 30 order gives no reasons for the denial.

Who is on each side

The plaintiffs, including the National TPS Alliance and individual Venezuelan TPS holders, are represented by lawyers from UCLA School of Law's immigration center, the ACLU of Southern California and of Northern California, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, according to the order. The defendants are Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security and the United States. Amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs were also filed by 15 states and the District of Columbia, a group of economists, members of Congress, and the Federation for American Immigration Reform, among others, the order shows.

We did not find a public statement from the Justice Department or the plaintiffs on the Nov. 3 stay.

Why it matters at work

TPS shields people from countries in crisis from deportation, and it comes with eligibility for work authorization, Bloomberg Law notes. Venezuelans who were due to regain TPS, and the eligibility for work authorization that comes with it, on Nov. 6 now face at least two more weeks of uncertainty. El Cronista also reported that the protections will not be reinstated on Nov. 6 as previously expected.

What comes next

The stay begins Friday, Nov. 6, and runs 14 days. The court has not announced a date for arguments on the merits in the sources we could open. For background, see our earlier report on the Oct. 30 order. If immigration agents show up at your job, here is what to do.

Sources

• Ninth Circuit Pauses Order Restoring Venezuelans' TPS Relief, Bloomberg Law
• 9th Circ. Backtracks On Venezuela TPS Reinstatement, Law360
• Order, National TPS Alliance v. Mullin, No. 25-5724 (9th Cir. Oct. 30, 2026), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Venezuelans face another delay in TPS protections as appeals court pauses reinstatement, El Cronista