Court Upholds Legal Protections for 350,000 Haitians in the U.S.

A divided U.S. appeals court recently blocked the Trump administration's effort to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians. The court's 2-1 decision cited the potential threat of gang violence and a deteriorating rule of law in Haiti as reasons for maintaining these protections.

The ruling comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a request to pause a prior judgment from February that prohibited the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from terminating TPS for Haitians. The DHS had argued that TPS was not meant as a 'de facto amnesty' and planned to challenge the earlier ruling.

Previous attempts to end TPS for Venezuelans were noted by the administration, yet U.S. Circuit Judges Florence Pan and Brad Garcia deemed the Haitian situation distinct, acknowledging the serious risks that deported Haitians would face. Meanwhile, DHS has not yet responded to requests for comment.