A Brooklyn federal judge has halted the Trump administration’s plan to terminate deportation protections and work permits for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrants before the expiration date of the program, which was set to end on August 3.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security revoked Joe Biden’s extension of temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians that was to expire on February 3 and initially announced the end of the program on August 3, later adjusting the date to September 2.
However, US District Judge Brian Cogan of Brooklyn ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not follow instructions and statutory requirements when she attempted to nullify a portion of the TPS status for Haiti. Cogan argued that Noem lacked the authority to revoke parts of a country’s TPS designation, making her actions unlawful.
Cogan also stated that the interests of Haitians in working and residing in the US outweigh any conceivable harm to the government, adding that the government still retains the ability to enforce immigration laws and terminate TPS status according to the rules set by Congress.
Donald Trump, who is known for his strong stance on both legal and undocumented immigration, appointed Cogan to the bench during his administration. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin responded that Haiti’s TPS status was intended to provide temporary relief after the 2010 earthquake, not a permanent asylum solution. She also indicated that the Department expects higher courts to reverse the ruling.
During Trump’s previous term, federal courts also blocked his efforts to end TPS enrollment for various countries. Nine Haitian TPS holders, a group of churches, and a local branch of the Service Employees International Union filed the lawsuit in March, arguing that Noem failed to review the current conditions in Haiti before ending TPS early.
Over a million people, including more than half children, are internally displaced in Haiti due to gang violence, despite the efforts of a United Nations-backed security mission started last year.
Manny Pastreich, president of SEIU Local 32BJ, whose members include Haitian TPS holders, called the ruling “an important step” in the ongoing battle to protect the TPS status, while Noem, who shares Trump’s immigration stance, tried to end TPS for about 350,000 Venezuelans and populations from Afghanistan and Cameroon, a move given some legal support when the Supreme Court allowed TPS for Venezuelans to end on May 19.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/kristi-noem-haitian-immigrants-tps
