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In a recent ruling by a federal district court, Haitian immigrants were allowed to continue to benefit from Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after it was found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) illegally ended the program. The court determined that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had exceeded her statutory authority by ending the protections early. As a result, more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants will continue to be able to live and work legally in the United States.
The Facts of the Case
Originally, Haitian immigrants were granted TPS after a major earthquake resulted in a humanitarian crisis around 15 years ago, which has essentially been ongoing ever since. The Biden Administration originally extended those protections until October 2026, allowing Haitians to legally remain in the country without a visa or other forms of legal immigration status until that time.
However, in February 2025, Secretary Noem vacated TPS for Haitian immigrants, claiming that such protections were no longer necessary. This would have originally resulted in their TPS protections ending in August 2025, rather than in October 2026. She was sued shortly thereafter by immigrants whose immigration status was threatened by this decision.
The Legal Issue Being Decided
The primary question before the court is whether Secretary Noem had the legal authority to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians early. Lawyers for the Administration claimed that the Secretary had the unilateral authority to make decisions about TPS, including whether to grant it, extend it, or terminate it. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, meanwhile, argued that she did not have the legal authority to end TPS without giving evidence that the underlying crisis was no longer an issue.
What the Court Ruled
In her decision, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes found that Secretary Noem had exceeded her legal authority by ending TPS protections for Haitian immigrants early. She said that Noem failed to adequately cite any rationale for ending these legal protections, which she is required to do under 8 U.S.C. §1254a. As stated in the decision, the Secretary is required to “apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program,” which she did not do in this case.
Moreover, Judge Reyes noted that the decision was seemingly based on personal animus rather than any actual legal basis. This is due to comments on social media by Secretary Noem where she referred to immigrants as “killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies,” throwing doubt on the notion that her decision was based on the actual facts of the case.
The Impact of the Decision
Thanks to this decision, the approximately 350,000 Haitian immigrants across the United States will be able to continue benefitting from TPS status. This means they can still legally live and work in the US, at least while the lawsuit is under review by the courts. However, Secretary Noem has pledged to appeal the lawsuit, with the apparent intention to take it to the Supreme Court if necessary.
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