A federal judge blocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s attempt to end legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians. The judge noted procedural issues and pointed out Noem’s inflammatory public statements as indications that the policy change likely had improper motives.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued an order preventing the Department of Homeland Security from ending Temporary Protected Status for about 350,000 Haitian nationals living in the United States. These protections were set to start expiring on Tuesday, Feb. 3, after DHS moved to reduce Haiti’s TPS designation.
The ruling referenced Noem’s comments from a December 2025 post on X. In that post, she suggested “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies,” and later added, “WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.” Haiti was among the countries included in her remarks. DHS acted three days before the post to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation, a program first granted to Haitians after the country’s 2010 earthquake and continuously renewed due to ongoing instability.
In her decision, Reyes stated that the evidence did not support describing Haitian TPS holders as the type of threat Noem mentioned in her public statements. She relied on government data and the plaintiffs’ backgrounds to challenge the administration’s view of this group. The plaintiffs included Haitian TPS holders, such as professionals and students, according to court documents and case coverage.
Reuters reported that Reyes found Noem likely violated necessary procedures by trying to end TPS. She also suggested that the policy change likely contradicted constitutional equal protection principles. Furthermore, Reyes indicated that the change seemed to be influenced by bias against nonwhite immigrants.
TPS allows individuals from designated countries to live and work in the United States when conditions in their home countries make returning unsafe, but it does not create a path to citizenship. The government has used TPS for decades in response to natural disasters and conflicts. The executive branch can extend or end the program.
The ruling came as the Trump administration pursued a broad immigration crackdown and sought to limit or eliminate protections for multiple groups. The Guardian reported that the administration took steps affecting large populations from Venezuela, parts of Central America, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Cameroon, leading to an increasing number of lawsuits.
The Department of Homeland Security announced plans to appeal the ruling. Reuters reported that DHS argued TPS should remain temporary and viewed the Haiti designation as an example of a program consistently extended beyond its intended limits.
The ruling provided immediate relief to Haitian communities that had prepared for the Feb. 3 deadline. Many were concerned about work authorization, driver’s licenses, and the risk of deportation. The Associated Press reported that some Haitian TPS holders saw the court intervention as a delay, though they remained uncertain about their future if the government wins the appeal.
Reuters cited UNICEF data showing millions of people, including many children, require humanitarian aid amid increasing violence and instability. These conditions supported the plaintiffs’ argument that ending TPS now would put lives at risk.
For the administration, the next phase of litigation will begin, focusing on a central question highlighted by Reyes’s opinion: whether Noem’s public statements and the timing of her actions show that the policy change was based on factors other than the legal standards set by Congress for TPS.
