Appeals court rules against Trump administration's efforts to end protected status for Haitians

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court this week sided with a lower judge's ruling against the Trump administration's efforts to end temporary protected status for roughly 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., issued the 2-1 ruling on Friday.

“The government’s failure to meet its burden of demonstrating irreparable harm alone justifies denying emergency relief that would upend the status quo and increase uncertainty while this appeal proceeds,” the court said.

A message seeking comment was left Saturday with the Homeland Security Department.

Temporary Protected Status can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary if conditions in home countries are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster, political instability or other dangers. While it grants TPS holders the right to live and work in the U.S., it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship.

Haiti’s TPS status was initially activated in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and has been extended multiple times. The country is racked by gang violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The Trump administration has aggressively sought to remove the protection, making more people eligible for deportation. The moves are part of the administration’s wider, mass deportation effort.

In addition to the migrants from Haiti, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whom Trump announced he was firing on Thursday — has terminated protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans, 60,000 people from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, more than 160,000 Ukrainians and thousands of people from Afghanistan and Cameroon. Some have pending lawsuits in federal courts.