Lawsuit Filed Against DHS for Terminating Deportation Protections for Haitians and Venezuelans
The termination of temporary protected status infringes upon federal law, as stated in the lawsuit.
A recent lawsuit alleges that President Donald Trump’s administration has unlawfully revoked deportation protections for nationals from Haiti and Venezuela.
Under the TPS framework, the Secretary of Homeland Security can provide protection from deportation to certain immigrants if it is determined that temporary and extraordinary conditions in their home countries make safe return unfeasible.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem decided in February to revoke TPS status for about 348,000 Venezuelans, claiming that maintaining the protection was not in the best interest of the United States.
She later partially reversed this decision and is considering completely eliminating TPS for close to 500,000 Haitians.
However, according to Haitian-Americans United and other advocacy groups involved in the lawsuit, Noem did not possess the authority to rescind the protection initially granted by her predecessor.
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“The TPS statute does not empower the Secretary to undermine the rights of vulnerable TPS recipients by revoking an extension that has already been approved; she simply lacks the statutory authority to do so,” they emphasized.
The organizations are seeking a court ruling to declare that these actions violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution. They are asking the court to nullify the recent decisions and prevent officials from taking any action to enforce them.
In addition to Noem and the DHS, Trump has also been named as a defendant.
The White House has not responded to requests for comment. A DHS spokesperson indicated to The Epoch Times that the agency is unable to comment on ongoing litigation.
At this point, DHS has not yet submitted a response to that suit.
When Trump assumed office on January 20, 17 countries, including Afghanistan, El Salvador, Nepal, and Sudan, held TPS designations.
A spokesperson for DHS stated after Noem acted regarding Haiti’s TPS designation, “President Trump and Secretary Noem are restoring TPS to its original purpose: temporary.”
