Judge Halts TPS End for 350,000 Haitians

A federal judge in Washington on Monday issued an order halting the Trump administration's plan to terminate temporary protected status for approximately 350,000 Haitians living and working in the United States, pending the outcome of a related lawsuit.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes granted the pause after immigrant rights groups and affected individuals challenged the Department of Homeland Security's decision to end the protections, which were set to expire on February 3. Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, allows eligible foreign nationals to remain in the U.S. and obtain work authorization when their home countries face conditions that make return unsafe, such as natural disasters, armed conflict or widespread violence. The program does not offer a path to permanent residency or citizenship.

The ruling comes amid the administration's broader push to curtail TPS designations across multiple countries as part of an effort to expand deportations. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in November that Haiti's TPS would end, citing improvements in the country that she said warranted the change. According to a government notice, recent positive developments included...