A federal judge prevented the Trump administration from ending immigration protections granted to approximately 350,000 Haitians enrolled in Temporary Protected Status (TPS) one day before the designation was set to expire.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes indefinitely suspended the termination of the program and barred the government from revoking beneficiaries’ legal status, work permits, or proceeding with arrests and deportations of active TPS holders, according to CBS News.
In her ruling, Reyes concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to adequately consider the ongoing violence, political instability, and poverty in Haiti.
The judge also noted that the determination was partially influenced by racial animus, citing previous statements made by Noem and President Trump regarding Haiti and its citizens.
The Department of Homeland Security indicated that the administration may seek intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court and maintained that TPS for Haiti was never intended as a permanent solution.
TPS, created in 1990, has been used by multiple administrations to provide temporary protection to individuals from countries facing humanitarian crises.