The Trump Administration this week asked the Supreme Court to give it emergency relief from the U.S. Justice Dept. in order to end temporary deportation protections for some 350,000 Haitian immigrants, a proportion of which work in the long-term sector, notably in states like Florida and Massachusetts.

Haitians were first granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in 2010 because of a tragic earthquake there and its aftermath.

When elected for the first time, President Trump tried to end protections for Haitians but was unable to do so before his term ended amid a court battle. This time, there are even more court battles over the TPS status of nationals from countries like Haiti and Venezuela as the White House seeks to end their special status.

As for this most recent development, the Trump Administration is acting after a federal judge in February handed a legal victory to the Haitians, blocking a decision last fall by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security to terminate the designation of TPS for Haiti, effective Feb. 3, 2026.

The DHS termination is now effectively blocked nationwide because of the Feb. 2 decision by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who granted a stay maintaining the legal status of Haitian nationals "pending judicial review." Reyes is a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She deemed the Trump Administration’s efforts to strip the TPS designation for Haitians as unlawful.

Early-April Decision

As for the timeline for a Supreme Court decision, David S. Schumacher, partner, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, P.C., and managing partner in the firm’s Boston office, said the Supreme Court ordered respondents to file their response by Monday, March 16. “I would expect a decision from the Court in early April,” he said.

He cautioned that the decision would not be on the merits of the Haitian TPS status, but instead, “the Supreme Court will decide whether or not to stay the lower court’s decision. If they do, the litigation will continue in the normal course and ultimately be decided on the merits. But in the meantime, if the administration’s termination of TPS is allowed to stand, they can deport people while the case is litigated.”

On the other hand, if the Supreme Court does not stay the lower court’s decision, the lower court’s order stays in place, and TPS continues while the case is being litigated, Schumacher said.

Comments or questions? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.