UC Irvine Law Professors Robert S. Chang and Annie Lai Lead Amicus Briefs Defending TPS Protections in U.S. Supreme Court Immigration Case  – UC Irvine Law News
UC Irvine Law Professors Robert S. Chang and Annie Lai Lead Amicus Briefs Defending TPS Protections in U.S. Supreme Court Immigration Case
IRVINE, Calif. (May 13, 2025)
— University of California, Irvine School of Law Professors
Robert S. Chang
and
Annie Lai
each served as counsel of record on amicus curiae briefs filed May 8 at the U.S. Supreme Court in an immigration case concerning Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan nationals.
Professor Robert S. Chang, Executive Director of the
Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality
, served as counsel of record and
submitted a brief on behalf of members of Congress
in
Noem v. National TPS Alliance
, opposing the federal government’s request to stay a lower court ruling that reinstated TPS protections. The brief argues that the Executive Branch’s interpretation of the TPS statute overreaches its authority and undermines both congressional and judicial oversight.
On the same day, Clinical Professor of Law Annie Lai served as counsel of record and
filed a separate amicus brief
on behalf of immigration law scholars. The brief traces the history and purpose of TPS, asserting that Congress intended the program to provide humanitarian protection guided by clear statutory constraints — not subject to arbitrary executive revocation.
These filings continue a pattern of impactful amicus advocacy from UC Irvine Law faculty and the Korematsu Center. In April, Professors Chang and
Susan McMahon
, along with the Korematsu Center,
filed a slate of amicus briefs
defending First Amendment rights of law firms and opposing the federal government’s attempt to end birthright citizenship.
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