Wasserman Schultz, Van Hollen Lead 137 Democrats in Supreme Court Brief to Defend TPS for Venezuela

Washington, September 29, 2025
“Separation of powers requires that the Executive Branch not usurp Congress’s power to make laws; it mandates that the Executive Branch not override the Judiciary’s power to declare what the law is; and it obligates the Judiciary to not shy from its duty to prevent Executive Branch overreach that upsets the carefully calibrated role each co-equal branch plays in our constitutional democracy,” said the Members in the brief’s introduction. The brief continues, “The Secretary’s actions not only violate the TPS statute but also contradict the bipartisan opposition to terminating Venezuela TPS. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have long supported temporary protected status for Venezuelans who fled dangerous conditions in their country—conditions that persist today.”

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) led 137 Democratic Members of Congress to support and defend Venezuelans from the Trump Administration’s baseless termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by filing an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in National TPS Alliance v. Noem.

This filing follows a federal district judge’s ruling that the Administration acted unlawfully when it canceled TPS for Venezuelan and Haitian migrants. The court found that DHS Secretary Noem lacked the statutory authority to vacate and terminate TPS designations for those countries.

“Separation of powers requires that the Executive Branch not usurp Congress’s power to make laws; it mandates that the Executive Branch not override the Judiciary’s power to declare what the law is; and it obligates the Judiciary to not shy from its duty to prevent Executive Branch overreach that upsets the carefully calibrated role each co-equal branch plays in our constitutional democracy,” said the Members in the brief’s introduction. 

The brief continues, “The Secretary’s actions not only violate the TPS statute but also contradict the bipartisan opposition to terminating Venezuela TPS. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have long supported temporary protected status for Venezuelans who fled dangerous conditions in their country—conditions that persist today.”

The brief asserts that legislative intent of the TPS statute was to (1) standardize the process of awarding humanitarian protection based on enumerated criteria to protect the decision from political pressures and (2) to provide relief to individuals facing serious but generalized forms of harm as opposed to targeted persecution necessary to qualify for asylum. If the government is inherently able to vacate previous designations or extensions due to shifting political winds, then the process is no longer standardized and free from domestic politics. The full amicus brief can be found here.

In addition to Wasserman Schultz and Van Hollen, the amicus was joined by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI),  Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). 

House signers included: 

  • Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee 
  • Rep. Bennie Thompson, Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee 
  • Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee 
  • Rep. Gregory Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee 
  • Rep. Richard Neal, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee 
  • Rep. Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee 
  • Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee 
  • Rep. James McGovern, Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee 
  • Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee 
  • Rep. Jared Huffman, Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee 
  • Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member of the House Science, Space & Technology Committee 
  • Rep. Mark Takano, Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee
  • Rep. Yvette Clarke, Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
  • Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
  • Rep. Grace Meng, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
  • Rep. Jerry Nadler, co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus
  • Rep. Brad Schneider, Chair of the New Democrat Coalition
  • Rep. Greg Casar, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus

Wasserman Schultz was also joined by fellow Reps. Gabe Amo, Yassamin Ansari, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Wesley Bell, Don Beyer, Suzanne Bonamici, Shontel M. Brown, Julia Brownley, Janelle Bynum, Andre' Carson, Troy A. Carter, St., Sean Casten, Kathy Castor, Joaquin Castro, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Judy Chu, Emanuel Cleaver, Steve Cohen, Herb Conaway, J. Luis Correa, Jasmine Crockett, Danny Davis, Madeleine Dean, Diana DeGette, Suzan DelBene, Mark DeSaulnier, Maxine Dexter, Lloyd Doggett, Sarah Elfreth, Veronica Escobar, Dwight Evans, Cleo Fields, Lizzie Fletcher, Lois Frankel, Laura Friedman, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Sylvia R. Garcia, Jesús G. "Chuy" García, Daniel S Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Josh Gottheimer, Al Green, Jahana Hayes, Glenn Ivey, Jonathan L. Jackson, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Henry C. ("Hank")  Johnson, Jr., Julie Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, William Keating, Robin L. Kelly, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Greg Landsman, John B Larson, Summer L. Lee, Susie Lee, Sam Liccardo, Stephen F. Lynch, Sarah McBride, April McClain Delaney, Jennifer L McClellan, Betty McCollum, Kristen McDonald Rivet, LaMonica McIver, Rob Menendez, Kweisi Mfume, Dave Min, Kelly Morrison, Jared Moskowitz, Seth Moulton, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Brittany Pettersen, Chellie Pingree, Stacey Plaskett, Nellie Pou, Mike Quigley, Delia C. Ramirez, Emily Randall, Luz Rivas, Raul Ruiz, Andrea Salinas, Mary Gay Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, Terri A. Sewell, Lateefah Simon, Darren Soto, Melanie Stansbury, Marilyn Strickland, Suhas Subramanyam, Tom Suozzi, Shri Thanedar, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Lori Trahan, Juan Vargas, James Walkinshaw, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nikema Williams, and Frederica S. Wilson.

Wasserman Schultz, who co-chairs the Venezuela Democracy Caucus, led an amicus brief with the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the same case, as well as a similar brief to the Supreme Court in its original consideration of the case.

Wasserman Schultz also partnered with Reps. Darren Soto (FL-9) and María Elvira Salazar (FL-27) to sponsor bipartisan legislation to reverse Trump’s termination of TPS for Venezuelans and redesignate protections.

Van Hollen has introduced the SECURE Act, legislation to provide qualified Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure recipients a path to legal permanent residency.

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