Judge Questions US Government’s Decision to Terminate TPS For Haitians

WASHINGTON, DC – Justice Ana C. Reyes on Wednesday continued to hear arguments over the decision of the Department of Homeland Security’ (DHS) to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, stripping lawful status and work authorisation for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants in the United States.

TPS allows immigrants from designated countries to stay in the US for up to 18 months when conditions like armed conflict make it unsafe to return. But the DHS under the Donald Trump administration has voided 12 designations for 11 countries including Haiti, resulting in lawsuits.

The District Court for the District of Columbia case is one of   multiple legal challenges to the DHS’s termination of TPS for Haiti.

Last year, a New York judge blocked  the DHS from removing TPS protections early for Haitians in the US. However, the HDS issued  a Federal Register notice that it would remove protections when they’re set to expire in February, arguing that conditions had improved enough in the country to remove protections.

At the start of  the hearing on Tuesday, Justice Reyes questioned intensely lawyers for the government on how Haitian immigrants targeted for removal from the US could safely return to a country deemed unsafe for travel by the government.

She noted that Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had identified “immediate security challenges” in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM)  country last year.

“Can you explain to me how it’s safe to return to a country or live in a country when it’s not even safe to fly into that country?” the judge noted as she noted that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had prohibited civilian US aircraft from operating in portions of Haitian airspace because of the security forces’ inability to prevent attacks from criminal groups.

The attorney for the Justice Department, Dhruman Sampat, said he wasn’t a foreign policy expert in response to the judge’s query on air travel as Justice Reyes responded by saying “I’m just asking as a matter of logic.”

She also questioned why it’s a national interest to remove Haitians with the government arguing that the secretary has broad discretion to make determinations of the national interest that can’t be reviewed by the courts.

Justice Reyes asked whether Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, could decide it’s in the national interest to remove Haitians because she “doesn’t like vanilla ice cream” with Sampat responding by saying it could be a possible economic consideration for a decision.

“Listen to yourself. I understand you’re in a tough spot, but just take a breath and listen to yourself,”  Justice Reyes said, noting before adjourning that her critiques of government attorneys have generated significant press coverage.

She added that counsel for DHS had done a “phenomenally good job” in the hearing that is continuing on Wednesday.