US judge blocks Trump from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians

New York: A federal judge on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's bid to end temporary deportation protections and work permits for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrants before the program's scheduled expiration date.

The Department of Homeland Security had in February rescinded Democratic President Joe Biden's extension through February 3, 2026 of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians.

It called for the program to end on August 3, and last week pushed back that date to September 2.

US District Judge Brian Cogan in Brooklyn, however, said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not follow instructions and a timeline mandated by Congress to reconsider the TPS designation for Haitians.

"Secretary Noem does not have statutory or inherent authority to partially vacate a country's TPS designation," making her actions "unlawful," Cogan wrote. "Plaintiffs are likely to (and, indeed, do) succeed on the merits."

Cogan also said Haitians' interests in being able to live and work in the United States "far outweigh" potential harm to the U.S. government, which remains free to enforce immigration laws and terminate TPS status as prescribed by Congress.

Republican President Donald Trump has made a crackdown on legal and illegal immigration a central plank of his second White House term.

Cogan was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, also a Republican.

US APPEAL EXPECTED

In a statement, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Haiti's TPS designation was granted following the 2010 earthquake in that country, and was never intended as a "de facto" asylum program.

"This ruling delays justice and seeks to kneecap the President's constitutionally vested powers," she said. "We expect a higher court to vindicate us."

Federal courts blocked Trump from ending most TPS enrollment during his first term.

Nine Haitian TPS holders, an association of churches and a chapter of the Service Employees International Union filed the lawsuit on March 14, saying Noem did not do a required review of current conditions in Haiti before ending TPS early.

More than 1 million people, over half of them children, are displaced within Haiti, where gang violence is prevalent despite a United Nations-backed security mission that began last year.

"While the fight is far from over, this is an important step," Manny Pastreich, president of SEIU Local 32BJ, whose members include Haitian TPS holders, said in a statement.

TRUMP CRACKDOWN

Noem shares Trump's hardline stance on immigration issues, and also moved to end TPS for about 350,000 Venezuelans as well as thousands of people from Afghanistan and Cameroon.

On May 19, the U.S. Supreme Court let TPS end for the Venezuelans, signaling that other terminations could be allowed.

Noem has authority to grant TPS for six to eight months to people from countries experiencing natural disasters, armed conflict or other extraordinary events.

The Haitian plaintiffs also claimed the suspension of their TPS status was motivated in part by racial animus, violating their constitutional right to equal protection.

Trump falsely said in a September 2024 debate with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating pets, sparking fear of retaliation toward Haitians.