In late July 2026, the Department of Homeland Security and the federal courts appeared to be at odds over whether Temporary Protected Status had ended for some 350,000 Haitians, exposing them to deportation proceedings, the Washington Post reported.
An alert on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services site said, “The Haiti TPS designation is terminated, effective July 27, 2026.” But attorneys said the program could not legally end until the lower courts implemented the Supreme Court's ruling and lifted the order that had blocked the termination since February. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 25, 2026 that DHS could terminate TPS for Haiti and Syria. On July 22, a three-judge D.C. Circuit panel denied the government's request to end protections on July 24, noting that the case would be returned to that court on July 27. The program dates to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
The conflicting signals, compounded by short last-minute extensions of work permits, left Haitian workers and their employers unsure what was legal: a Florida immigration attorney told the Key West Citizen that some employers had let TPS workers go based on the DHS deadline while others waited for a court order. A DHS statement told Haitians, “It's closing time, which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here,” and offered a $2,600 payment toward a flight home. A Senate bill to extend Haitian TPS failed when Sen. Eric Schmitt blocked it.
Update (October 2, 2026): On August 5, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes wrote that her earlier order staying the termination “is no longer in effect” after the Supreme Court's decision and the D.C. Circuit's mandate. The lawsuit continues, but the administration is no longer barred from ending Haitian TPS. The White House said the program ended July 27.
Correction (October 2, 2026): Earlier versions quoted immigration lawyer Amy Peck, a DHS spokesperson and Haitian Bridge Alliance attorney Erik Crew from a Washington Post article whose full text could not be verified; those quotes were removed. The title, which said the injunction remained in force, was changed because a judge confirmed on August 5 that it no longer was.