Judge Blocks DHS Termination of Haitian Migrant Protections (2)

A federal judge in DC paused the Trump administration’s move to strip more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants of deportation protections set to expire Feb. 3 at midnight.

The plaintiffs are likely to succeed with claims that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haiti was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, Judge Ana C. Reyes of the US District Court for the District of Columbia found Monday.

Reyes’ order preserves the lawful status and employment authorization of TPS holders from the country while litigation continues.

“Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants,” Reyes wrote. “Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both our Constitution and the APA to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that.”

The TPS program allows foreign nationals from designated countries to stay in the US for up to 18 months with legal work authorization. A designation is issued by the Department of Homeland Security when it determines that conditions like armed conflict or public health threats make returning safely impossible.

Dismantling the program is part of the Trump administration’s broader mass deportation campaign. DHS has axed TPS protections for immigrants from 12 countries so far.

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin called Reyes’ decision “lawless activism.”

“Supreme Court, here we come,” she said in a statement.

Several TPS holders alleged in their lawsuit challenging the Haiti termination that the Trump administration violated the APA and violated statutory requirements for an objective review of conditions in the country. Reyes last month ordered the government to produce documents on the review process behind the Haiti termination after she expressed concerns that its decision was preordained.

She found that Noem’s decision was likely arbitrary and capricious because the government’s explanations ran counter to the record, including copious documents describing a “nation deep in crisis.” Reyes also concluded that plaintiffs are likely to prevail with equal protection claims because the record strongly indicated a preordained decision motivated in part by racial animus.

A stay is in the public interest, she found, in part because Haitian TPS holders contribute $3.4 billion to the economy annually and fill critical shortages in industries like health care.

Letting the termination go forward would also affect homeowners and long-term residents embedded in their communities, Reyes found. And a majority of Haitian TPS holders and their families who rely on employer-sponsored health insurance would lose access, she wrote.

Her decision follows a ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that Noem unlawfully terminated TPS for Venezuela and Haiti. That decision didn’t immediately change anything for TPS holders though because of a US Supreme Court order blocking relief issued by a lower court while the litigation continues.

Lynn Tramonte, executive director of Ohio Immigrant Alliance, called for permanent protections to be created for Haitian TPS holders. The state is home to tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants.

“This 11th hour reprieve is, of course, welcome,” she said in a statement. “But people can’t live their lives like this, pegging their families’ futures to a court case.”

Plaintiffs are represented by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson LLP, and Just Futures Law. The government is represented by the Department of Justice.

The case is Miot v. Trump, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-02471, order issued 2/2/26.