The cloudy status is creating confusion for Haitian immigrants and the companies that employ them.
Read more Democrats toughen their midterm message: ‘Hold the crooks accountable’
The Department of Homeland Security and federal courts appear to be at odds over whether temporary protected status has ended for some 350,000 Haitians, exposing them to deportation proceedings.
DHS has indicated online that the humanitarian program for Haitians was “terminated, effective July 27, 2026,” this Monday. But lawyers say that TPS cannot officially end until lower courts execute a Supreme Court ruling and officially allow the Trump administration to terminate the program, which was first established in response to the catastrophic 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
“There is still a nationwide injunction in place. Last time I checked the rule of law is still in place,” said Amy Peck, a leader of the immigration group at the firm Jackson Lewis. “The lower court still needs to issue an order that implements the Supreme Court decision, so DHS doesn’t get to unilaterally decide what the end date is.”
A DHS spokesperson did not respond to a question on Monday about whether TPS had ended for Haitians, but said, “temporary protected status is exactly that — temporary. For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent.”
The cloudy status — compounded by recent eleventh-hour extensions of work permissions for Haitians by DHS — is creating confusion for Haitian immigrants, lawyers, advocates and the companies that employ them.
Read more Blanche’s AG nomination in doubt as a critical Republican remains unsatisfied
Some employers have terminated workers and subsequently rehired them. Others have preemptively removed workers from schedules without pay or have fired workers in fear of becoming targets of immigration enforcement.
Many Haitians who have been in the country for more than a decade are bracing for a rush of arrests and deportations by the Trump administration.
“This is really terrible,” said Erik Crew, an attorney at Haitian Bridge Alliance in Brooklyn. DHS “is now actively publishing false information.”
Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. Sign up for The 7 newsletter.
Read more After a disastrous 2025 season, Commanders launch training camp with renewed intensity
