Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Move to End TPS for Haitian Immigrants

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from revoking Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants living in the United States, preventing their potential deportation to a country struggling with extreme gang violence, political instability, and a deep humanitarian crisis.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of Washington, D.C., halted the Department of Homeland Security’s plan to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation, which was scheduled to take effect on Wednesday. The ruling came in response to a class-action lawsuit filed by Haitian TPS holders who argued that ending their legal protections would expose them to serious danger if forced to return to Haiti.

In her decision, Judge Reyes stated that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem likely violated both federal administrative procedures and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. She noted that evidence suggested the decision to end TPS may have been predetermined and influenced by hostility toward nonwhite immigrants, making the plaintiffs’ claims substantially likely to succeed.

TPS allows eligible migrants from countries affected by natural disasters, armed conflict, or extraordinary conditions to live and work legally in the U.S. Haiti was first designated for TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Since then, successive administrations have extended the designation due to ongoing instability. Most recently, the Biden administration extended Haiti’s TPS in July 2024 through February 3, 2026, citing overlapping economic, political, security, and health crises driven by rampant gang violence and the absence of a functioning government.

After President Donald Trump returned to office, his administration moved to scale back those protections. In February 2025, DHS attempted to shorten the Biden-era extension, and later sought to terminate Haiti’s TPS entirely, arguing that conditions in the country no longer justified the designation. DHS has said TPS was never intended to serve as a long-term immigration solution.

The administration has indicated it will appeal the ruling. Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations continue to warn of worsening conditions in Haiti, where more than 1.4 million people have been displaced and over six million are in need of assistance, according to UNICEF.