A federal court in Washington, D.C., entered an order on February 2, 2026, staying – or postponing – the Department of Homeland Security’s (“DHS’s”) termination of Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Haiti. The TPS was set to terminate at 11:59 p.m. on February 3, 2026.
More than 350,000 individuals are estimated to be living in the United States pursuant to the TPS designation, which enables individuals to apply for employment authorization documents.
In Moit v. Trump, Case No. 1:25-cv-02471-ACR, U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes issued a lengthy memorandum opinion in which she found the plaintiffs, five Haitian TPS holders, showed a substantial likelihood that they will ultimately show that DHS, when deciding not to renew TPS status for Haiti: (1) acted contrary to the Administrative Procedures Act (the “APA”) and the TPS statute; and (2) violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The court further concluded the plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm if the stay was not granted.
In a separate order, Judge Reyes stayed DHS’s termination of the designation of Haiti for TPS and stated, “… the Termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect” during the stay. The order went on to specify, “The Termination therefore does not affect the protections and benefits previously conferred by the TPS designation, including work authorization and protection from detention and deportation, and the valid period of work authorization extends during the stay. … The Termination also has no effect on the eligibility for work authorization and protection from detention and deportation for individuals, if any, with pending applications.”
The decision provides a reprieve to hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals living in the Unted States, although the ruling could be appealed. The U.S. Supreme Court in a similar case paused a lower court’s ruling against DHS, effectively allowing the administration to end the protected status of Venezuelans while the case wound through the appeals process. It remains to be seen if an appellate court or the U.S. Supreme Court will rule similarly in this case, or what the repercussions of such a ruling might be.
This article is not intended to constitute legal advice. Attorney Keith L. Hammond, Esq., is available to provide advice and counsel to those who may be impacted by this court decision.
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