(CN) - A federal judge on Wednesday denied the Trump administration's motion to stay an order he issued last week, which blocked the president from stripping temporary protected status from more than a million Venezuelan and Haitian nationals living in the U.S.

"A stay of the judgment would irreparably harm [thousands of migrants] who would immediately face the prospect of a return to countries that are so dangerous that even the State Department advises against travel (not to mention loss of the ability to work, drive, and so forth)," wrote U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, a Barack Obama appointee, in his ruling. "Moreover, the public interest weighs against a stay because, as the Court explained in its postponement order, Venezuelan and Haitian [temporary protected status] holders make significant and important economic and social contributions, both to the United States as a whole and to the local communities of which they are a part."

Chen noted that the government had provided "zero evidence or argument" about whether or not the stay would cause it irreparable injury, which is typically one of the legal justifications for a stay.

Among other things, the bipartisan Immigration Act of 1990 created temporary protected status, or TPS, visas, which can be granted to immigrants whose countries are unsafe to return to because of war or environmental disaster. The roughly half a million Haitians living in the U.S. were granted TPS during the Obama administration, while about 600,000 Venezuelans were given temporary protection under President Joe Biden. Both countries are experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis, with Haiti gripped by gang violence and Venezuela experiencing widespread poverty and food shortages under the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro.

Shortly after taking office, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked TPS for both Haitians and Venezuelans.

An immigrant advocacy group, the National TPS Alliance, and 11 migrants sued Noem in February, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security didn't have the authority to vacate the temporary protections for immigrants, and even if it did, the reasons it gave were "arbitrary and capricious," "contrary to law." The plaintiffs added that the department had been "motivated at least in part by racial animus," pointing out that Noem had referred to Venezuelan TPS holders as "dirtbags."

In March, Chen postponed Noem's decision, writing, "It is evident that the secretary made sweeping negative generalizations about Venezuelan TPS beneficiaries in toto... Acting on the basis of a negative group stereotype and generalizing such stereotypes to the entire group is the classic example of racism." The judge noted that in the 35-year history of TPS, no president had ever simply revoked the status for a whole country.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed Chen's ruling without explanation. In August, Chen issued a temporary stay, which the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

Last week, Chen granted the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, writing, "The secretary's action in revoking TPS was not only unprecedented in the manner and speed in which it was taken but also violates the law."

Among other things, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security had argued in their motion to stay Chen's ruling pending appeal that it was likely to succeed on the merits because of the U.S. Supreme Court's prior order in the case. In Wednesday's ruling, Chen addressed this argument, writing, "But the Supreme Court's order did not provide any specific analysis on the merits of Plaintiffs' case," and added, "The Supreme Court's order was based on a preliminary assessment of the case - and for Venezuela only. Since that order, the record herein has been further developed."

The record was developed, he wrote, not so much by evidence as by lack of evidence. For example, he wrote, "the government produced no evidence suggesting that Secretary Noem consulted with internal or external agencies (including on country conditions) before deciding to vacate, thus underscoring the preordained nature of her TPS decision-making."

The government has already appealed Chen's ruling granting the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a separate lawsuit, the National TPS Alliance is also challenging the Trump administration's revocation of protections for immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.

Source: Courthouse News Service