AG Bonta and AG James co-led a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in National TPS Alliance v. Noem in support of a challenge to the early termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Venezuela. TPS is a critical humanitarian program that allows nationals of designated countries to remain in the United States due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions in their home countries. Currently before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the case is challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) unprecedented efforts to terminate TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan nationals, many of whom have been in the United States for several years and live with family members who are U.S. citizens. In their brief, the attorneys general urge the district court to grant the plaintiffs’ motion to postpone the unlawful early termination of the TPS designation for Venezuela.

“We are filing an amicus brief to help stop the unlawful early termination of the Venezuela TPS designation. The Trump Administration’s attack on TPS is an attack on vulnerable individuals who are fleeing a humanitarian crisis, in search of safety and a better life for their families. California is home to more than 72,000 TPS beneficiaries, the fourth most of any state. Our Venezuelan TPS holders are far from being a burden or threat to our state, instead they are a resounding benefit. In California alone, TPS households earned $2.1 billion in income, paid $291.2 million in federal taxes, and paid $226.5 million in state and local taxes. These individuals are our neighbors, co-workers, caregivers, and job-creators, and they contribute to our communities in numerous ways.” – AG Bonta