Haitians win pause on Trump's plan to end their protected status
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Members of the Haitian community protest on Sept. 24, 2024 in Boston. Photo: Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
More than 500,000 Haitian refugees living under temporary residency in the U.S. can remain and continue working in the country, a federal judge ruled Monday evening.
Why it matters: Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which provides short-term refuge to people fleeing crisis, was set to expire for Haitian immigrants Tuesday — despite ongoing violence and instability in the Caribbean island nation.
- Haitians living in the U.S. under TPS will maintain work authorization and protection from deportation, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote in Monday's order.
- The stay preserves the same benefits for people with pending TPS applications.
- Haitians are among many immigrant groups whose protected status was not renewed or was eliminated this year as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
What we're watching: "Supreme Court, here we come," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Axios in and email Monday evening. "Temporary means temporary and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench."
- The White House referred Axios' request for comment to DHS.
- The Justice Department and State Department did not immediately respond to Axios' Monday evening request for comment.
State of play: Temporary protected status has been repeatedly renewed for Haitians since it was first granted after the 2010 earthquake killed more than 220,000 people.
- A July lawsuit targeting President Trump, the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem argued that Haiti is a "nation in chaos," noting that gangs control about 90% of the country's capital and were responsible for more than 5,600 killings in 2024.
- The State Department lists Haiti under a Level 4 travel advisory — urging Americans not to travel there "for any reason" due to "kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care."
- The agency notes that Haiti has been under a state of emergency since March 2024 amid escalating gun violence.
Catch up quick: Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Trump made baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating their pets — accusations that officials and community leaders repeatedly publicly debunked.
- An estimated 30,000 Haitian immigrants live in central Ohio, with around 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
- The administration in February 2025 announced it would roll back protections for Haitian immigrants nationwide, which was expected to affect about 520,000 people living in the U.S.
- A federal judge blocked the administration's initial rollback in July, preserving the Biden administration's TPS extension through February of this year.
Go deeper: All the nations who've lost immigrant protections under Trump
Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
