Federal judges rule protections remain while legal challenge to DHS decision continues.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court order preventing the termination of Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals living in the United States, allowing them to remain in the country and continue working while a legal challenge moves forward.
In a 2–1 decision issued March 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied the Trump administration’s emergency request to pause a lower court ruling that blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending Haiti’s TPS designation. The decision leaves protections in place for roughly 330,000 Haitians currently living in the United States under the program.
The majority concluded that the Department of Homeland Security had not demonstrated it would suffer irreparable harm if the lower court’s order remained in effect during the litigation.
Judges wrote that Haitian TPS recipients who brought the lawsuit would face significant consequences if the protections were revoked while the case proceeds.
“As the district court detailed at length, the termination of TPS would have ‘devastating’ consequences for the plaintiffs, including risk of detention and deportation, separation from family members, and loss of work authorization,” the majority opinion stated.
The ruling keeps intact a February decision by U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes that prevented TPS for Haitians from expiring on Feb. 3, the date the Department of Homeland Security had scheduled for the program’s termination.
In dissent, Judge Justin Walker argued the federal courts should not block the administration’s decision, writing that the program was never intended to serve as a permanent immigration status.
“The Government is irreparably harmed by ‘an improper intrusion by a federal court into the workings of a coordinate branch of the Government,’” Walker wrote. He also said the administration was likely to prevail in the underlying case because foreign policy decisions by the executive branch are generally not subject to judicial review.
The case centers on the Department of Homeland Security’s November 2025 decision to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation.
Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian program that allows nationals of certain countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to live and work legally in the United States for limited periods.
Haiti first received TPS designation after the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and caused widespread destruction across the country. The designation has been repeatedly renewed by multiple administrations over the past decade.
According to data cited by the National Immigration Forum, more than 330,000 Haitian nationals currently reside in the United States under TPS protections.
Several Haitian TPS recipients filed suit in July 2025 challenging the termination decision, arguing that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s move to end the protections failed to account for ongoing instability in Haiti.
The plaintiffs argued the decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act, asserting that it was “arbitrary [and] capricious,” and also claimed the termination violated the Fifth Amendment’s due process protections.
They pointed to continuing violence and instability in Haiti, where armed gangs have expanded their influence amid the collapse of government authority in many regions.
“Haiti is a nation in chaos,” the plaintiffs wrote in their complaint. “Violent gangs have taken over Haiti, establishing a mafia-like model that is so entrenched the country can barely function without their consent.”
Judge Reyes agreed in her earlier ruling, finding that the Department of Homeland Security had failed to comply with legal requirements when issuing the termination decision.
Reyes said the agency did not properly consult with other federal departments before announcing the revocation, a step required under the TPS statute.
After the district court ruling blocked the termination, the Trump administration quickly appealed and asked the D.C. Circuit to suspend the lower court’s order while the case proceeds.
The appellate court’s decision means TPS protections will remain in place while the broader lawsuit continues through the courts.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security have previously stated they disagree with the lower court ruling and maintain that the agency has authority to end TPS designations.
Information about Haiti’s TPS designation can be found on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website at USCIS.
The Trump administration has also sought to terminate TPS protections for several other countries, including Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Burma, decisions that have likewise faced legal challenges in federal court.
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