MIAMI — Hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the United States on TPS — Temporary Protected Status — who have been protected from deportation will now be allowed to remain until at least Feb. 3, 2026, with the right to work, according to a July 18 announcement by the Department of Homeland Security.
The restoration of Haitians’ TPS comes after a New York federal judge earlier this month blocked the government’s efforts to cut six months from the program and begin deportation proceedings Sept. 2.
“The court’s decision provides a crucial, if temporary, reprieve for the more than 500,000 Haitians and their families who depend on TPS,” said the Family Action Network Movement, a Haitian rights group based in Miami.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan ruled against the administration’s decision to end Haitians’ TPS status, finding that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem exceeded her authority when she rolled back the timeline. The TPS designation had been extended in July 2024 to run for 18 more months.
“This is just the first step in making it possible for Haitians in the U.S. to regain the confidence to function in the country and defend ourselves,” Max St. Pierre, a worker at Walmart in North Miami Beach, told the Militant.
“Since the original decision many of us saw hundreds of our fellow countrymen fired and arrested,” St. Pierre said. “Many even became afraid to walk in the street. Many no longer shop and carry on business as before. The place I work is now like a ghost town compared to before.”
In his ruling, Cogan says immigrants protected under a program that is set for a fixed time period benefit from its protections for at least that period, noting that Noem is authorized to end these protections once the program expires. The Department of Homeland Security initially announced it would fight the ruling, but has now backed off.
The Family Action Network Movement statement points out, “Haiti continues to face a dire situation marked by widespread violence, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, general insecurity, lack of access to basic resources, and government collapse.”
The temporary restoration follows threats by the administration to end TPS for immigrants from Afghanistan, Cuba, Ukraine, Venezuela and elsewhere. More than a million people from 17 countries are covered by TPS protection.