A federal judge late Monday blocked the end of protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live in the U.S., dealing President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda another legal, though perhaps temporary, setback.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington granted a request to pause the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds. The termination, which was set for Tuesday, “shall be null, void, and of no legal effect,” she wrote.
Reyes said in an 83-page opinion that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on the merits of the case, and that she found it “substantially likely” that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem preordained her termination decision and was “motivated, at least in part, by racial animus.”
While the ruling grants temporary relief to Haitians, the next legal steps were unclear.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denounced the ruling as “lawless activism.”
“Haiti’s TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago,” she said. “It was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program, yet that’s how previous administrations have used it for decades.”
Haiti not safe, plaintiffs argue
The judge, an appointee of former president Joe Biden, said Noem had significant discretion to enact policy as DHS secretary but did not have “unbounded discretion” and was required to consult with other agencies on conditions in Haiti.
“Secretary Noem is the decision-maker,” wrote Reyes. “But the Secretary cannot just throw verifiably inapposite or false assertion after inapposite or false assertion — no matter how inflammatory — against the wall and hope that something sticks.”
In one example, Noem raised the issued of Haitian gang members who had entered the country, but Reyes noted that the government provided no evidence that had occurred with TPS holders, who were previously vetted.
Temporary Protected Status can be granted by the homeland security secretary if conditions in home countries are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster, political instability or other dangers. While it grants TPS holders the right to live and work in the U.S., it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship.
Haiti’s TPS status was initially activated in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and has been extended multiple times. The country is racked by gang violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and plans to hold elections this year appear to be in jeopardy.
“If the termination stands, people will almost certainly die,” attorneys for Haitian TPS holders wrote in a court filing in December. “Some will likely be killed, others will likely die from disease, and yet others will likely starve to death.”
Haiti has qualified for the 2026 World Cup for the first time in 50 years, but a travel ban and immigration raids will keep many fans away from U.S. matches. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glasner talks to Haitians about the meaning of this moment and explains why some are calling out FIFA for hypocrisy.
A government notice in November announcing the termination of TPS for Haitians said there had been some positive developments in Haiti, including authorization of a new, multinational force to combat gangs.
The judge said that in supporting that position, the government had cherry-picked statements made by UN Secretary General António Guterres, and she also took note of a statement in October by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicating that Haiti is confronted by “immediate security challenges.”
The court said that Noem, in making her determination did not consult with Rubio, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti or the U.S. Embassy there.
The ruling also took exception to Noem’s own words three days after announcing an end to Haitian protections, calling for a travel ban from Haiti and “every damn country that has been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
Reyes took pains to highlight that the five Haitians suing in the case at hand were not “killers, leeches or entitlement junkies,” but a neuroscientist, a software engineer, a registered nurse, a laboratory assistant and a college student.
Reprieve welcomed in Ohio city
While campaigning for president in 2024, Trump denigrated the community of about 15,000 Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, including in his lone debate with Democrat Kamala Harris a claim that some of the immgirants were eating neighbourhood pets in the mostly white, working-class city of about 59,000 people.
Reyes took note of those comments, along with reports that Trump in his first term referred to Haiti as among a number of “shithole” countries.
In the weeks after his comments, schools, government buildings and the homes of elected officials in the city received bomb threats.
Earlier Monday, two dozen faith leaders and hundreds of congregants in Springfield sang and prayed together in support of Haitian migrants who feared their protected status could end this week.
Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, said the court’s “11th-hour reprieve is, of course, welcome. But people can’t live their lives like this, pegging their families’ futures to a court case.”
The Trump administration has aggressively sought to remove temporary protections, making more people eligible for deportation. The moves are part of the administration’s wider, mass deportation effort.
In addition to the migrants from Haiti, Noem has terminated protections 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. Several of those determinations have been challenged in the courts.