In another legal, perhaps temporary, setback to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, a federal judge late Monday blocked an end to protections that allowed nearly 350,000 Haitians to live in the United States.
U.S. District Judge Anna Reyes in Washington has granted a request to temporarily halt the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, a lawsuit challenging the case. The termination, which was imposed Tuesday, will be “null, void and without legal effect,” she wrote.
In an 83-page opinion, Reyes said the plaintiffs could lose the case on merits and that Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem premeditated the termination decision and found it “motivated, at least in part, by racial prejudice.”
While the ruling provided Haiti with temporary relief, the next legal steps were unclear.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin condemned the ruling as an “unlawful move.”
“Haiti TPS was granted 15 years ago following an earthquake,” she said. “It was never intended to be an amnesty, but that’s how previous administrations have used it for decades.”
Haiti is not safe, prosecutors argue.
The judge, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, said Noem had a vested interest in setting policy as DHS secretary but did not have “unfettered discretion” and had to consult with other agencies on the situation in Haiti.
“Secretary NoM is a decision maker,” Reyes wrote. But the writer can’t just throw it against the wall and hope that something will stick, no matter how inspiring it may be, after a realization or a false affirmation.
In one instance, NOM released a statement that identified Haitian gang members who had entered the country, but Reyes said the government did not provide any evidence that it had happened to previously vetted TPS holders.
Temporary protected status may be granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security if domestic conditions are unsafe for return due to natural disasters, political unrest, or other threats. While TPS holders are granted the right to live and work in the US, it does not provide a legal path to citizenship.
Haiti’s TPS status was initially activated after a devastating earthquake in 2010 and has been extended several times. The country has been plagued by gang violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands of citizens, and plans to hold elections this year appear to be in jeopardy.
“If the waiver is stopped, people will almost certainly die,” attorneys for Haitian TPS holders wrote in a court filing in December. “Some will be killed, others will die of disease, and others may die of starvation.”
Haiti has qualified for the 2026 World Cup for the first time in 50 years, but a travel ban and immigration crackdown will keep many fans away from American matches. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glassner talks to Haitians about the meaning of this moment and explains why some are calling FIFA hypocritical.
In November, the government’s notice announcing the end of TPS to Haitians noted some positive developments in Haiti, including the creation of a new, multi-purpose force to fight guerrillas.
The judge noted comments by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in support of this position, and a statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in October indicating that Haiti faced “immediate security challenges”.
The court said NOM did not consult with Rubio, the US ambassador to Haiti or the US embassy there in making her decision.
In Noem’s own words, the decision differed from Haiti and “every accursed country that is flooding our country with killers, brutality and rights seekers,” three days after he announced the end of protection for Haiti.
Reyes was at pains to emphasize that the five Haitians charged in the case were not “murderers, criminals or misfits,” but a neuroscientist, a software engineer, a registered nurse, a lab assistant and a college student.
Welcome to Ohio City Break
In the year While campaigning for the presidency in 2024, Trump disparaged the Haitian community of about 15,000 in Springfield, Ohio, during his only debate with Democrat Kamala Harris, including claims that some immigrants were eating working pets in the mostly white city of 59,000 people.
Reyes noted those comments, along with reports that Trump mentioned Haiti among several “interesting” countries during his first term.
In the weeks since his comments, schools, government buildings and the residences of elected officials in the city have received bomb threats.
Early Monday, two dozen faith leaders and hundreds of worshipers in Springfield sang and prayed together in support of Haitian refugees who fear their protected status could end this week.
“The 11th hour relief is certainly welcome,” said Lynn Tramont, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, of the court.
The Trump administration has aggressively tried to eliminate temporary protections by making more people eligible for immigration. The moves are part of the administration’s broader, mass deportation effort.
In addition to refugees from Haiti, NOM has suspended protection for about 600,000 Venezuelans, 60,000 people from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, more than 160,000 Ukrainians and thousands of people from Afghanistan and Cameroon. Many of these decisions have been contested in court.