The United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. affirmed a lower court’s ruling on March 6, 2026, blocking the Trump administration’s efforts, through the Department of Homeland Security, to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for around 350,000 Haitians living in the United States. The divided 2-1 ruling protects the hundreds of thousands of Haitians from deportation, permitting them to remain and work legally in the United States, as opposed to returning to Haiti. The question presented before the court was whether the Department of Homeland Security was justified in making the decision to revoke TPS. The panel’s holding affirms the lower court’s ruling by the U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes from Feb. 2 of this year.
The court considered the acceptability of the Department of Homeland Security’s TPS termination under the United States Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The 83-page opinion, originally authored by Reyes, explains that under this statute, an agency decision can be struck down if it is considered “arbitrary and capricious,” meaning it does not reflect rational, evidence-based decision-making. For example, something can be considered arbitrary and capricious if it ignores important facts or offers an inconsistent rationale.
The court held that the Department of Homeland Security failed to meaningfully consult with the proper administrative agencies before deciding to terminate TPS, and failed to consider the conditions that Haitians would be forcibly returning to. Judge Reyes ultimately ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s explanation for ending the designation was doubtful, made without rational standing and that the department was not justified under the appropriate “arbitrary and capricious” review.
TPS is an impermanent status that can be granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, shielding eligible migrants from deportation if conditions in their home countries are considered unsafe for return. According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, those eligible for TPS must be a national of a designated TPS country, or a person without nationality who last resided in the designated country and has been continuously physically present (CPP) in the United States.
While the program allows the right to live and work in the U.S., it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship. Congress created TPS in 1990 to allow citizens of countries experiencing unrest, such as natural disasters, armed conflict, political instability or other crises, to remain in the U.S. if they would be endangered by returning to their homelands. Haitians were first granted TPS in 2010 following a disastrous earthquake. Still, their status has been extended numerous times due to an ongoing humanitarian crisis, and compounding economic, security, political and health risks.
The appeals court decision interrupts a harsh crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration, in which the Department of Homeland Security has perpetuated a mass deportation campaign. Under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security had moved to end TPS for multiple countries, terminating TPS for 600,000 Venezuelans, more than 160,000 Ukrainians and hundreds of thousands of people from Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Afghanistan and Cameroon.