{"id":458408,"date":"2026-02-09T16:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/458408\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T16:00:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:00:13","slug":"late-minute-reprieve-court-halts-haiti-tps-termination-general-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/458408\/","title":{"rendered":"Late Minute Reprieve: Court Halts Haiti TPS Termination – General Immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seyfarth Shaw LLP are most popular: <\/p>\n


\n within Compliance and Consumer Protection topic(s) <\/p>\n

A federal District Judge in Washington, D.C. has issued a ruling<\/a> affecting hundreds of thousands of
\nHaitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and the employers
\nwho rely on them. On February 2, 2026, the court granted a stay
\nblocking the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) attempt to
\nterminate Haiti’s TPS designation. The decision in Lesly
\nMiot et al. v. Trump et al. preserves the status quo and
\nallows Haitian TPS holders whose status was due to expire today,
\nFebruary 3, to continue living and working lawfully in the United
\nStates while litigation proceeds.<\/p>\n

Litigation History<\/p>\n

In July 2024, DHS announced that then Secretary Mayorkas would
\nextend and newly designate Haiti for TPS through February 3, 2026,
\nbut later Federal Register notices (Feb 2025 and July 2025)
\nshortened it to August 3, 2025 and then announced a termination
\neffective September 2, 2025.<\/p>\n

However a July 15, 2025 judgment from the U.S. District Court
\nfor the Eastern District of New York (in Haitian Evangelical
\nClergy Ass’n v. Trump) pushed any termination date to no
\nearlier than February 3, 2026. As a result of the litigation in
\nNovember of 2025, DHS announced<\/a> that Haiti’s TPS designation
\nwould end on February 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Then What Happened?<\/p>\n

Five Haitian TPS holders challenged the decision, arguing that
\nDHS failed to follow statutory requirements and acted for
\nimpermissible reasons. After an extensive review of the
\nadministrative record, the DC District court agreed that the
\nplaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in the order issued
\nFebruary 2, 2026.<\/p>\n

In the detailed 83\u2011page opinion, the court issued a stay
\nunder the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) \u00a7\u202f705,
\neffectively pausing DHS’s termination decision and ensuring
\nthat Haitian TPS holders maintain their status for the time
\nbeing.<\/p>\n

The court explains that under U.S. administrative law, an agency
\ndecision can be struck down as “arbitrary and capricious”
\nif it does not reflect reasoned decision-making, e.g., the agency
\nignored key facts, relies on irrelevant factors, gives an
\nexplanation that clashes with the record evidence, or offers a
\nrationale that just does not make sense. Even though judges are not
\nsupposed to substitute their own judgment for the agency’s,
\nthey still must make sure the agency stayed within the bounds of
\nrational, evidence-based decision-making and connected the facts to
\nthe outcome.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs argue that Secretary Noem’s explanation for
\nending Haiti’s TPS designation was implausible and contradicted
\nthe evidence in the record. The government mostly does not directly
\nrefute that; instead, it argues the court should not
\n“second-guess” the Secretary or reweigh competing
\nevidence. Judge Reyes agrees with that general principle, but says
\nthe court’s job is still to check whether the decision was
\nreasoned, principled, and grounded in the record. Here, the court
\nconcludes it was not.<\/p>\n

Finally, the court notes the Secretary provided two reasons for
\nterminating Haiti’s TPS designation: (1) Haiti no longer has
\n“extraordinary and temporary conditions” preventing
\npeople from returning safely, and (2) allowing Haitian TPS holders
\nto remain in the U.S. is “contrary to the national
\ninterest.”<\/p>\n

The court says neither justification holds up under the
\nAPA’s arbitrary-and-capricious review.<\/p>\n

More on Why the Court Hit the “Pause”
\nButton<\/p>\n

1.DHS failed to consult with required agencies.
\nThe TPS statute mandates consultation with “appropriate
\nagencies” before a decision to extend or terminate a TPS
\ndesignation. The court found that DHS relied on a single brief
\nemail exchange with a State Department staffer, far from the
\nmeaningful consultation Congress intended.<\/p>\n

2.Evidence suggested a predetermined outcome.
\nThe court noted that DHS has terminated all twelve TPS designations
\nthat have come up for review since 2025, with little indication of
\nindividualized analysis. That pattern supported the plaintiffs’
\nclaim that decisions were preordained rather than the product of a
\ngood\u2011faith review.<\/p>\n

3.The record did not support DHS’s conclusions about
\nconditions in Haiti. The administrative record described
\nHaiti as facing widespread violence, mass displacement, collapsed
\ninstitutions, and severe humanitarian conditions, including a State
\nDepartment “Do Not Travel” advisory. DHS nevertheless
\nconcluded that Haitians could safely return, without identifying a
\nsingle safe region. The court found this conclusion inconsistent
\nwith the evidence before the agency.<\/p>\n

4.Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their Equal
\nProtection claim. The court found substantial indicators
\nthat racial and national\u2011origin animus influenced the
\ndecision\u2011making process, including statements by senior
\ngovernment officials about Haitian and other non\u2011white
\nimmigrants and inconsistencies between DHS’s stated rationale
\nand the record.<\/p>\n

Impact on Employers<\/p>\n

Because the court issued a \u00a7\u202f705 stay, Haitian TPS
\nholders retain their TPS status and remain
\nemployment\u2011authorized; essentially, their Employment
\nAuthorization Documents (EADs) remain valid. We expect U.S.
\nCitizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to update its TPS Haiti<\/a> webpage, and consistent with its
\napproach for TPS Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Syria and other
\ncountries during ongoing litigation\u2013to omit a specific
\nwork\u2011authorization expiration date while the case remains
\npending.<\/p>\n

What Employers Should Do<\/p>\n


\nWork with your immigration compliance counsel to determine what
\ndate to record in Section 2 or Supplement B for the expiration date
\nand keep it consistent so that these employees can be identified,
\nespecially if DHS wins on appeal or if USCIS issues guidance, also
\nconsider any notes or documents to attach;
\n
\nMonitor Updates: Stay informed on USCIS guidance for Form I-9
\ncompletion and any DOJ\/IER advisories regarding hiring
\npractices;
\n
\nConsider operational plans for compliance adjustments if TPS
\nstatus changes again;
\n
\nInternal Communication: Ensure HR and compliance teams
\nunderstand the current protections and pending guidance to avoid
\nerrors in onboarding or reverification; and,
\n
\nEnsure that any electronic Form I-9 system you may be using
\ndoes not block hiring or reverification of employees with TPS EADs
\nextended by litigation. <\/p>\n

Sharing Judge Reyes’ Conclusion<\/p>\n

\"1741638a.jpg\"\/<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/p>\n

The ruling averts the immediate loss of work authorization for
\ncountless individuals employed in sectors already experiencing
\nworkforce shortages. DHS has indicated it will appeal with DHS
\nspokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posting on X:<\/p>\n

“Temporary means temporary and the final word will
\nnot be from an activist judge legislating from the
\nbench.”<\/p>\n

For now, the message for employers is clear: no immediate change
\nto Haitian TPS or work authorization, and TPS Haiti recipients may
\ncontinue to work.<\/p>\n

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
\nguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
\nabout your specific circumstances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Seyfarth Shaw LLP are most popular: within Compliance and Consumer Protection topic(s) A federal District Judge in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-458408","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}