Trump’s promise to revoke TPS for Haitians stalls in court

President Donald Trump's campaign promise to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Haitians has hit a roadblock in court.

U.S. District Court Judge Ana C. Reyes in Washington, D.C., said in her Feb. 2 ruling it "seems substantially likely" that the administration decided to terminate Temporary Protected Status "because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants." The ruling came one day before the protection was set to expire.

The Trump administration asked Reyes to stay her ruling pending appeal; on Feb. 12 she declined to pause her decision. The administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to temporarily halt Reyes' ruling; written responses are due Feb. 19 and the appeals court could rule after that date.

Reyes' order allows the more than 300,000 Haitians who have TPS to legally remain in the U.S; the largest group lives in Florida, and thousands more live in Ohio. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump and his running mate JD Vance falsely said that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating people's pets. 

The Trump administration has argued that TPS was designed to be temporary and that the reason for the initial designation — the 2010 earthquake — no longer applies.

The federal government said in a November notice ending TPS that "there are no extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti" that prevent Haitian nationals "from returning in safety."

That conclusion runs counter to the evidence, Reyes found, pointing to the State Department warnings against travel to Haiti because of crime, terrorism and civil unrest.

During the Biden administration, Haiti's deteriorating conditions prompted the U.S. federal government to redesignate Haiti's status, allowing more Haitians to become eligible. 

We will revisit this promise as the case proceeds through the appeals process. We rate this promise Stalled.

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