Overview
- U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes granted a stay that halted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s Feb. 3 termination of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status.
- The ruling found an unusually thin administrative record, described in filings as a brief email exchange, and said the evidence strongly suggests the decision was influenced by racial animus.
- Reyes said DHS failed to conduct required interagency analysis and highlighted the State Department’s “Do not travel to Haiti” advisory as inconsistent with claims that return would be safe.
- DHS vowed to appeal, with a spokesperson saying “Supreme Court, here we come,” so TPS protections continue while the case proceeds in higher courts.
- The decision preserves work authorization and deportation protections for roughly 350,000 Haitian nationals, many in Florida and Ohio, easing immediate fears but leaving long‑term status unresolved.