A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s plans to end temporary protected status for Haitian migrants before it is set to expire in February 2026.
In his Tuesday ruling, New York-based Judge Brian Cogan said Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem didn’t “have statutory or inherent authority to partially vacate a country’s TPS designation.”
The ruling comes months after Noem announced the administration would cut TPS for Haitians, which would have ended their legal status on Aug. 3. The lawsuit was filed against her and President Donald Trump by a group of Haitian migrants and advocacy groups, including the Haitian Evangelical Clergy Association.
For recently arrived Haitians, many of whom fled the gang violence-stricken island, Tuesday’s decision brought a glimpse of hope. Now, the nearly 350,000 Haitians in the country under TPS status have more time to apply for other legal immigration statuses. The program can’t be suspended without a 60-day advance notice, Cogan said in his ruling.
The decision gives Haitians in the country under the law “a little bit of relief,” said Springfield, Ohio-based Pastor Viles Dorsainvil, co-founder of Springfield’s Haitian Support Center, and one of the plaintiffs.
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“They have a little chunk of time just to make arrangements if they decide to stay here, or if they decide to go somewhere else because I think that Aug. 3 was too much on short notice for them to do what they had to do,” he said.
The decision is a “victory” that will protect “350,000 immigrants from imminent deportation to Haiti,” wrote attorneys Andrew Tauber and Geoff Pipoly of law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, which represented the plaintiffs.
“This is a victory not only for our clients, who bravely stood up for what is right, but also for the rule of law,” they wrote in a statement.
The Trump administration said it was prepared to appeal the decision.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in an emailed statement that the ruling “delays justice and seeks to kneecap the President’s constitutionally vested powers under Article II,” referring to his executive powers.
“Haiti’s TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago, it was never intended to be a de facto asylum program, yet that’s how previous administrations have used it for decades,” she said in the statement. “The Trump administration is restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us in this. We have the law, the facts, and common sense on our side.”
Half a million migrants, many from Haiti, were granted TPS under Biden-era programs introduced in 2023 to create legal immigration routes for nationals of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. In October, the Biden administration announced that it would not renew the programs, after suspending them in August following an internal report that flagged possible sponsorship fraud. Despite the suspension, beneficiaries of the programs would still enjoy their legal status until it expired.
In March, the Trump administration overturned the programs, urging beneficiaries to self-deport by late April or prepare to face immigration arrests.
The programs didn’t “serve a significant public benefit, are not necessary to reduce levels of illegal immigration, did not sufficiently mitigate the domestic effects of illegal immigration, are not serving their intended purposes, and are inconsistent with the administration’s foreign policy goals,” Noem said in a March 25 notice.
According to the United Nations, more than 5,600 people were killed due to gang violence in Haiti in 2024. In Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital, armed gangs have gained control of entire neighborhoods and could soon control the entire city.
The DHS decision to cut short Haiti’s TPS status prompted angst among the Haitian community, said Dorsainvil. Some feared arrests by immigration enforcement.
Springfield is home to many Haitians who fled gang violence, and the announcement deterred many from stepping outside, he said. Once thriving, Springfield’s Haitian community saw a decline in church service attendance and English classes.
“That created some kind of chaos,” said Dorsainvil. “And the thing is, not only the chaos, but also they felt like they were being trapped by the fact that it was a short notice. … It was disastrous.”
For those with relatives in Canada, attempting the journey across the border also wasn’t an option, as they feared being detained by U.S. law enforcement and deported back to Haiti. Taking the risk to return to the gang-stricken island would be “a suicidal decision,” he said.
Bishop Nicolas Homicil, pastor at Voice of the Gospel Tabernacle church in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, said the ruling gave his migrant congregants “relief for some time.” When the Trump administration announced it would revoke the legal status, members of the community were devastated, he said.
He said the administration is attempting to “mistreat the poor people (of Haiti) who left their home for specific reasons,” and people who were affected started to feel “really depressed” after the decision.
The Trump administration’s plan was part of a broader wave of anti-Haitian sentiment, he said, noting that last summer during the run-up to the presidential election, Trump and now-Vice President JD Vance spread unverified claims that Haitian migrants in Ohio were eating their neighbors’ pets.
Haitians are stuck in a difficult situation, Homicil said, as the U.S. ultimately is set to end TPS for them and they still must find another legal path to stay in the country. Gangs make it impossible for migrants to return in Haiti, he added.
“The country is a disaster, and the U.S. government (knows) that,” he said. “When I heard Homeland Security say that the situation in Haiti has improved, I am wondering which Haiti they are talking about.”
Fiona André is a national reporter for Religion News Service based in New York City, and Helen Teixeira is a contributor to RNS.
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12 Responses
Again…some lowly district judge is trying to control foreign policy, a prerogative of the executive branch. I guess he did not get the memo of the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that he does not have that authority.
Saying “lowly district judge” points to a lack of awareness of the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the local courts. And no, it’s not necessarily to always cede to the executive branch. (Remember “checks and balances”? That we are a federal republic? The power of the states?)
Ironically, Trump accomplished a lot through the very local judges he appointed or helped win elections.
Were they “lowly” then?
From the wording of the article, it appears this may have been a class action case, which does grant broader injunction protections under the recent SCOTUS ruling.
Criminal negligence, also known as culpable negligence, is a legal term describing a state of mind where a person’s actions, or inaction, demonstrate a reckless disregard for the safety of others, creating a high risk of harm that a reasonable person would have recognized. It’s more than ordinary carelessness; it involves a gross deviation from the standard of care expected in a given situation, often leading to serious injury or death. -AI overview
Who are the criminals in this scenario? Those who fled for their lives or those responsible for sending them back?
Your perspective is appreciated, but isn’t the entire bigger picture. Musk’s DOGE found massive social security fraud with so many immigrants obtaining SS numbers. On top of that it’s estimated human traffickers made 13-15 billion dollars off getting many of these people through places like Darien Gap.
Transcript can be found at Alexandra Bruce’s recent substack post July 6,2025 , but here is a snippet:
“Elon Musk: And then you’ll notice there’s a strange trend here, where how many Social Security Numbers were issued. It’s – do you want to –?
Antonio Gracias: Yeah, so let me tell what happened here. We started at the top of the system, mapping the whole system of Social Security, to understand where all the fraud was. And there’s a lot of great people there that showed us really, a lot of waste. And so that came up with a big list of stuff they’re working on.
You’ve heard some of that already, but this is what jumped out at us. When we saw these numbers, we’re like, “What is this?”
In ’21, you see 270,000 people, goes all the way to 2.1 million in ’24. These are non-citizens that are getting Social Security Numbers.
Elon Musk: Yeah, this is a mind-blowing chart.”
“These are non-citizens that are getting Social Security Numbers.”
I would have to see more specific data to make a determinative statement, but Musk’s wording here is either (a) careless and sloppy or (b) displays utter ignorance of immigration and SSNs.
Permanent legal residents are not citizens, but they are granted Social Security numbers. In fact, some applying for adjustment of status from a non-immigrant visa (H1-B, tourist, student, etc.) can apply for a work permit and Social Security number at the same time they submit the application to adjust status, and it be granted with a notice on the SS card that proof of eligibility to work must be shown to employers.
I would think people under TPS would also be able to get a valid SSN using their State Department-issues TPS documentation.
For starters, non-citizens can get SS numbers. Any permanent resident (green card) has one. Anybody who is allowed to work under their visa gets one (for the purposes of SS Tax and Income Tax Withholding). You do realize that this is done because employers have to pay into the SS system as well?
So either Musk doesn’t know that, or he knows and doesn’t care, knowing people like you will not bother to check the actual laws.
CM, just curious – did you find the article and read it in its entirety before you commented? A snippet can’t give fuller context.
Haitians have been through enough. Not only have they endured violence in their own country (From which they were trying to escape) but they have been subject to lies that member of our own government have supported and spread. Lies about them that have no proof and have led to numerous death threats against them.
Another corrupt judge who has just outed themselves. No worries, the Haitians will soon be returned to their home country and the cabal-owned judge will soon be arrested. Nothing can stop what is coming and that includes the full truth being brought out into the light.
What makes the judge corrupt? And haven’t Haitians been through enough? Now we are shuttling them around like cattle as political pawns.
And why wouldn’t Haitians deserve temporary protected status like what was given to white South Africans?
Just before I retired from full-time ministry on June 30, I was honored to be asked to preach to a church with which my church shared our facilities. The church is made up of mostly of recently arrived Haitian immigrants who had fled their homeland due to the terrible violence that has taken over their nation. I attempted to provide a word of comfort and support to these brave and faithful people that I have come to love and admire. As this article demonstrates, the heartless attempt to overturn the TPS that had enabled most of the church members to arrive here legally has added immeasurably to their already overflowing cup of suffering. Surely, anyone who is ready to send these migrants back to their likely deaths is on the side of the Evil One and is courting the judgment of God.