TPS prevents US officials from deporting immigrants to countries deemed unsafe whether from natural disasters, armed conflicts or other crises.
In a scathing 83-page ruling, Reyes denied the Trump administration’s motion to have the lawsuit dismissed, granting the plaintiffs’ request for the deportation protection to remain while the case makes its way through the courts. The plaintiffs in the case are five Haitian TPS holders.
“They are not, it emerges, ‘killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies,'” Reyes wrote, quoting missives by Noem.
Haiti was designated as eligible for TPS after the Caribbean nation suffered a devastating earthquake in 2010. The status has been extended repeatedly, most recently in 2021 under the Biden administration.
The Trump administration has argued that TPS for Haitians has transformed into permanent residency and has become incongruous with Congress’ original intention in creating the program.
The Trump administration has pushed for the dismantling of most TPS programmes, raising the possibility of deportation for hundreds of thousands of migrants in the US from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Honduras, Myanmar, Nepal, South Sudan, Syria and Venezuela, among others.
Meanwhile, the administration has also moved to end deportation protections for around 2,500, Somalis. Starting 17 March, they will lose their work authorisations and legal status, making them eligible for deportation.