WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary legal protections for more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela, allowing them to remain in the United States with work authorization.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when terminating three Temporary Protected Status (TPS) extensions to immigrants from Venezuela and Haiti, which were granted under the Biden administration. The judge called the decision arbitrary and capricious.

TPS shields migrants from deportation when their home countries face crises such as conflicts or natural disasters.

The ruling secures legal status for about 600,000 Venezuelans and hundreds of thousands of Haitians whose TPS had expired in April or are set to lapse on Sept. 10.

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet commented on the ruling. ■