U.S. restores Haitian TPS protections, work permits until early February after court ruling

Miami Herald

19-07-2025

Tens of thousands of Haitians living and working in the United States with temporary protections from deportation will now be allowed to remain until at least February 2026 with employment authorization, according to the Department of Homeland Security website.
The restoration of Haiti's Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation comes after a New York federal judge earlier this month blocked the Trump administration's efforts to shave six months off of the protections, which are usually for 18 months.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan, ruling in a suit against the Trump administration's decision to prematurely end Haitians' TPS status and their work permits, had found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when she rolled back the timeline. The TPS designation— originally set by the Biden administration to end on Feb. 3, 2026 after being extended for Haiti — had allowed up to more than a half-million Haitian nationals to shield themselves from deportation and against losing their work permits.
In his ruling, Cogan also partly denied the administration's motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Haitian immigrants with TPS, a labor union and a clergy group with TPS beneficiaries.
'It is a victory,' said Ira Kurzban, one of the lawyers in the lawsuit. 'We are pleased that the Court, as have many others, stopped the administration from engaging in unlawful and vicious actions against immigrants.'
Administration 'vehemently disagrees'
It's not immediately clear if the Trump administration would attempt to appeal the decision.
In an alert posted Friday on its website, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services noted that Haiti's TPS designation and related benefits were slated to terminate on Sept. 2, 2025 but on July 15, 'a single judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York issued a final judgment' in a lawsuit.
'The Department of Homeland Security vehemently disagrees with this ruling and is working to determine next steps,' immigration services said in the alert.
The restoration follows several efforts by the Trump administration to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including more than 200,000 Haitians who entered the U.S. under a Biden-era humanitarian parole program. Last week during a visit to Washington by Haiti Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, the uncertain status of Haitians in the U.S. — and more support for a Kenya-led multinational security support force fighting armed gangs were among the concerns raised in meetings with the State Department and congressional lawmakers.
In late June, Noem determined that Haiti no longer meets the conditions for its TPS designation and announced the end of the country's designation once the current status ends. The decision, USCIS said, was taken 'after reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies.'
TPS designations have historically been given to countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions. The United Nations is warning that hunger continues to deepen across Haiti. The food crisis is compounded by ongoing violence, which is disrupting local food production in areas such as the community of Kenscoff in the hills above Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite, Haiti's breadbasket. With more than 5.7 million Haitians experiencing hunger, including famine-like conditions, and Haitians increasingly being targeted by armed gangs, the county is a textbook case for TPS designation, immigration and Haitian advocates have argued.
On Saturday, they welcomed the announcement but stressed that it was a court-imposed victory and they vowed to continue fight the effort by the Trump administration to end TPS for Haitians.
'This is not just a policy decision—it is a hard-fought legal victory for the Haitian community and all who have stood in defense of our immigrant families,' Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-FL, said in a Saturday statement following the administration's confirmation that it will comply with a federal court order halting deportations until at least February. 'The court's ruling makes clear what we have always known: TPS holders deserve stability, protection, and respect, not political games or legal uncertainty.'
McCormick said Haitian TPS holders who were wrongfully fired due to confusion around work permits must be reinstated immediately.
'These individuals are essential workers, caregivers and taxpayers, and they deserve justice. 'Let's be clear: this is the enforcement of the law. Our communities should not have to rely on court orders to be treated with dignity. A stronger path forward begins at home, with permanent protections and immigration reform that centers humanity, not politics,' she said.
Revoking TPS 'unconscionable'
Her sentiments were echoes by the Family Action Network Movement, a Haitian rights groups in Miami.
'We are relieved that the Administration finally acknowledged the correct end-date of Haiti's current TPS designation,' said Paul Christian Namphy, political director of FANM. 'We are encouraged that the court recognized the dire conditions that Haitians threatened with deportation would face upon arrival in Haiti.'
Sending back TPS holders 'to a country mired in gang violence, political instability and humanitarian crisis would be unconscionable,' the group added.
With more than 4,000 Haitians already killed this year and armed gangs expanding to other regions of the country, Haitians face a dire situation marked by widespread violence, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, lack of access to basic resources and governmental collapse. Just this week, scores of residents in Marchand Dessalines, a rural community in the Artibonite region, were forced out of their beds by armed gangs who invaded the community and set fire to the local police station before they were repelled by a self-defense group.
On Friday, the United Nations said that as of last month, there were nearly 250 active displacement sites across Haiti, housing many of the more than 1.3 million now displaced because of gangs.
'The vast majority are informal sites— with just over a fifth managed by humanitarian organizations, in collaboration with local authorities. This means that many families are living in precarious conditions,' U.N. Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq said.
'Since the beginning of the year, the U.N. and its partners have provided support to more than 113,000 displaced people, including essential services such as water, shelter, sanitation and healthcare. Nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti— the highest number ever recorded in the country due to violence,' he added during a press briefing.
Haq said that in June alone, more than 200 alerts were reported across displacement sites including reports about a lack of food, water, shelter or healthcare.
FANM said that the court's decision provides a crucial, if temporary, reprieve for the more than 500,000 Haitians and their families who depend on TPS to remain safely in the United States and can legally work.
The group called on the administration and the courts to respect immigrant protections from deportation, and said it remains committed to advocate with Congress for comprehensive immigration reform solutions which include a path to residency and citizenship for long-term TPS holders.
'Immigrants who have lived, worked, paid their taxes and taken care of their families and contributed in meaningful ways to their communities and to society for decades, deserve long-term protections and permanent status,' FANM said.