Federal appeals court blocks Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Haitians

A 2-1 panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the Trump administration's bid to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 350,000 Haitians living and working in the United States. The ruling upheld a lower court's February 2 decision blocking the Department of Homeland Security from ending Haiti's TPS designation. Judges Florence Pan and Brad Garcia, both Biden appointees, ruled that Haitians sent home would be vulnerable to violence amid a 'collapsing rule of law' and lack access to life-sustaining medical care in their gang-violence-stricken country. The decision prevents the administration from deporting hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals who have been living legally in the U.S. under the humanitarian protection program. The administration had announced its intent to terminate TPS for Haiti in early February 2026, citing improved conditions in the country despite widespread evidence of gang violence and humanitarian crisis.

"Haitians sent home would be vulnerable to violence amid a 'collapsing rule of law' and lack access to life-sustaining medical care" — From the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling explaining why the Trump administration's TPS termination was blocked