Washington — The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to freeze a lower court's order and allow the government to end deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the U.S.

U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the Supreme Court to allow the government to revoke the protections, known as temporary protected status, while a legal battle plays out in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and in any further proceedings before the Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, Judge Edward Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the administration's move to end TPS for Venezuelans and Haitians in the U.S. was unlawful. The 9th Circuit has declined to stay the lower court's decision.

In May, the Supreme Court allo

See Full Page