A federal judge in New York has blocked the Trump administration’s effort to strip immigration protections from thousands of Haitians living in the United States, ensuring their continued legal status—at least for now.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan ruled on Friday that the Department of Homeland Security’s attempt to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians was unlawful. The ruling preserves the Biden administration’s 2024 extension of TPS, which allows up to 500,000 Haitians to remain and work in the United States until February 3, 2026.
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The court decision comes just days after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to end the TPS designation for Haiti by September 2, 2025. Judge Cogan found that such an early termination violated the rules established under the TPS statute, which requires proper notice and prohibits ending protections before a previous extension expires.
Cogan emphasized that many Haitians under TPS have built their lives in the United States with the understanding that their status would remain valid until 2026.
“When the Government confers a benefit over a fixed period of time, a beneficiary can reasonably expect to receive that benefit at least until the end of that fixed period,” he wrote in his 23-page decision.
The judge made clear that Secretary Noem cannot enforce the early termination.
TPS is granted to nationals from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or extreme instability. Secretary Noem claimed that conditions in Haiti had improved enough to allow citizens to return safely. However, the U.S. State Department continues to advise Americans against traveling to Haiti, citing serious risks of kidnapping, violent crime, civil unrest, and limited healthcare services.
The attempt to end TPS for Haitians is part of a broader Trump-era effort to roll back protections for immigrants from multiple countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cameroon, and Afghanistan. Although the Biden administration had extended TPS for several groups, the issue remains highly contested in U.S. courts. Just last month, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the administration to revoke TPS protections for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans.
In contrast, Judge Cogan’s ruling affirms that the Haitian community will retain its TPS protections until the scheduled expiration date unless further legal action overturns the decision. For now, Haitian TPS holders can continue to live, work, and contribute to American society without fear of immediate deportation.
