A federal judge on Monday indefinitely postponed the termination of protected immigration status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the United States.

The order from Judge Ana C. Reyes of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia pauses Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s termination of TPS for Haitians, “pending judicial review.”

“During the stay, the Termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect,” Reyes wrote. “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 judge also denied the government’s motion to dismiss the case against the government’s termination of TPS, without prejudice.

The White House and DHS did not immediately reply to a request for comment following Monday’s order.

TPS allows foreigners to remain in the United States when they might not be able to return to their own country safety and often applies to countries experiencing war, strife or natural disasters. It was set to expire for Haitians Tuesday night.

Lawyers Geoff Pipoly and Andrew Tauber, who represented plaintiffs in the case, expressed gratitude toward Reyes and characterized her order as “a significant victory. They also vowed to carry on if the government appeals.

“Haiti remains an extraordinarily dangerous place, marked by widespread gang violence, rampant disease, lack of access to clean drinking water, severe housing instability, and the absence of a functioning government,” the lawyers said.

Reyes’ order, they continued, “recognizes the grave risks Haitian TPS holders would face if forced to return” and ensures they can continue contributing to their communities and supporting their families.

The news came as Haitians across the country were worried about the possibility of immigration enforcement actions, particularly in some communities such as Springfield, Ohio, and Miami, Florida.

Haitians and Springfield were thrust into the center of the turmoil over President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies when then-candidate Trump repeated unfounded claims on the 2024 campaign trail that Haitian immigrants “are eating dogs and cats” and “eating people’s pets,” which was repeated by then-presidential candidate JD Vance. Local police and the city’s manager refuted the claims saying there was no evidence to support them.

Haitians have endured other insults and hostility from Trump, including in 2018 when he referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as “sh–hole countries.”

Trump had tried to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians last summer, but legal challenges forced the administration to set this year’s Feb. 3 deadline.

In her order Monday, Reyes said the government did not provide a reason for why TPS for Haitians should end “post haste.” While the TPS statute does grant Noem some discretion, Reyes said, it does not grant her “unbounded discretion to make whatever determination she wants, any way she wants.”

“Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight,” the judge wrote. “She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured. This approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them.”

In South Florida, home to the largest Haitian American community in the country, the past few days have been nerve-wracking for those facing an end to protected status.

Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, a nonprofit umbrella that advocates for newcomers, said that as U.S. citizen and Haitian immigrant, she was anxious as she awaited the federal judge’s decision.

“Imagine people directly impacted,” Petit said. “I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.”

Haitians under protected status were calling the coalition for weeks wondering about their fate — whether they should return to Haiti if TPS was ended and what they might face if they stay in the United States illegally, Petit said.

In addition to the anxiety over Monday’s ruling, Petit said Haitians under protected status were living amid an uptick in ICE enforcement in areas with large Haitian communities in South Florida.

On Friday, Haitian Bridge Alliance, a group that speaks in favor of legal Haitian immigration, and the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the nation, sent a letter to the Trump administration encouraging it to back off terminating TPS for Haitians.

“Haitian TPS holders are nurses, construction workers, caregivers, hotel workers, and manufacturers,” Guerline Jozef, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “TPS holders are already vetted, documented, and self-supporting.”

In an email statement on Monday, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that “TPS was never intended to be a de facto asylum program, yet that’s how previous administrations have used it for decades.”

“We encourage individuals with TPS to take advantage of the Department’s resources for departure,” adding that they will be subject to deportation unless they have another lawful basis to remain in the U.S.

According to the National Immigration Forum, about 330,000 Haitians were in the U.S. with TPS as of March 2025.

Haiti was designated for TPS by then-President Barack Obama in response to the January 2010 magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated the country, killing and wounding more than half a million people and crippled its government.

The protection, which is usually in place for a year or more, was extended repeatedly as the country was hit with more natural disasters and political upheaval. In some years, Haiti was re-designated for TPS, opening the protected status to newcomers.

Trump tried to end TPS for Haitians in his first term, but court battles kept it from taking effect before he lost re-election in 2020.