Protections extended through Monday for more than 300,000 as case returns to appeals court
A federal appeals court in Washington on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants, ruling that the government had not shown it was entitled to immediately lift an existing court order that had paused the revocation. The panel’s brief order keeps protections in place through at least Monday, July 27.
The ruling came after the U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that the administration had the authority to end TPS for Haiti and Syria. That decision cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security to terminate the program that had shielded more than 300,000 Haitians from deportation and allowed them to work legally in the United States. The administration had set Friday, July 24, as the effective end of TPS for Haitians.
A panel of judges from the D.C. Circuit denied the administration’s request to stay a district court order issued in February by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, who had blocked the TPS termination while a lawsuit challenging it proceeded. The appeals court wrote in a brief order that the administration “has not shown that a stay of the district court’s Feb. 2, 2026, order pending the Supreme Court’s return of the case to this court is warranted, particularly given that the case will be returned to this court on July 27, 2026.”
The case now returns to the D.C. Circuit on July 27, when the appeals court will again consider the legal challenge. The brief extension means Haitian TPS holders will retain their work permits and deportation protections through the weekend.
TPS for Haitians was first granted in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake devastated the country. The designation has been repeatedly extended as political violence and instability grew. The Trump administration has contended that Haiti is now safe enough for TPS holders to return. The U.S. State Department, however, continues to list Haiti at a Level 4 travel advisory — “do not travel” — warning of crime, kidnapping, terrorism and unrest.