US appeals court blocks Trump bid to revoke protections for 350,000 Haitians
WASHINGTON, March 7 – A divided U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected a request by the administration of Donald Trump to suspend a lower court ruling that prevented the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians living in the United States.
In a 2–1 decision, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to pause a February 2 order that barred the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from ending Haiti’s TPS designation while legal challenges proceed.TPS is a humanitarian program that allows eligible migrants from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to live and work legally in the United States without fear of deportation.
The ruling upheld an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who found that the government’s move to terminate protections for Haitians likely violated established TPS procedures and the equal protection guarantee under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.Circuit Judges Florence Pan and Brad Garcia said Haitians forced to return could face severe dangers in their home country, describing conditions as marked by a “collapsing rule of law” and widespread insecurity. The judges also noted concerns about limited access to essential medical care.
The Department of Homeland Security under outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem has sought to end TPS designations for several countries as part of Trump’s broader immigration enforcement policies. Officials have argued that the program was never intended to function as a long-term legal status and risked becoming a “de facto amnesty.”Government lawyers told the appeals court that the U.S. Supreme Court had previously permitted the administration to terminate TPS for Venezuelan migrants, arguing the precedent justified allowing the Haiti policy change to proceed.But the appellate panel said the circumstances differed significantly, concluding that the potential humanitarian consequences for Haitian migrants warranted maintaining the lower court’s injunction while the case continues.
