Judge blocks Trump administration’s move to end protection status for Haitians

Protections were set to expire for hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the United States on Tuesday.

The Trump administration’s efforts to end temporary protection status for an estimated 350,000 Haitians were thwarted on Monday after a federal judge blocked the move. The status allows them to live and work in the United States as unrest in their country continues.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of Washington, D.C. has granted a request to pause the TPS termination for Haitians just before the designation was set to expire on Tuesday. Reyes issued a temporary stay that prevents Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from implementing the decision.

“During the stay, the Termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect,” Reyes wrote. “The Termination therefore does not affect the protections and benefits previously conferred by the TPS designation, including work authorization and protection from detention and deportation, and the valid period of work authorization extends during the stay.”

Haitians were granted TPS by former President Barack Obama in 2010 following the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake that devastated the country. More recently, since Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in 2021, the country has been in a state of critical unrest with conditions escalating. Armed gangs have taken control of Port-au-Prince and beyond as violence, food insecurity, and prolonged social and political instability have left the country in a state of crisis. 

With TPS, Haitians have been able to seek refuge in the states. During both of President Donald Trump’s terms, however, he’s spewed racist attacks that targeted Haitians living in America. Most notably during his 2024 presidential campaign, he made the baseless claim that Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio were eating pets.

The Trump administration has continued to attack Haitians more than a year after his second term began. In her decision, Reyes noted that Nome referred to Haitians seeking refuge as “killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies.” The judge also noted that the plaintiffs who requested the block aren’t as such.

“Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight,” Reyes wrote. “She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured. This approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them.”

In an additional 83-page opinion, Reyes wrote that it is “substantially likely” that Noem preordained her termination decision because of “hostility to nonwhite immigrants.” In a statement to CBS News, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin suggested getting the Supreme Court involved in the case.

Attorneys for the plaintiff expressed gratitude to Reyes, calling the order “a significant victory.” The lawyers told NBC News that her order “recognizes the grave risks Haitian TPS holders would face if forced to return.”