Judge confirms protections for Haitians in US no longer in place

A federal judge on Wednesday confirmed Haitian migrants in the U.S. have lost their temporary protected status (TPS), after the Supreme Court ruled earlier this summer the Trump administration could terminate the designation. In a two-page order, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes acknowledged the Supreme Court reversed her February decision pausing the administration's decision ending TPS for more than 300,000 Haitians. The high court ruled in a 6-3 decision, along ideological lines, that federal judges had no authority to weigh in on a challenge to the termination brought by migrants. That allowed the administration to carry on with its revocation of TPS for migrants from Haiti and Syria. The administration is also pushing to rescind the temporary status for more than 1 million people from dozens of other countries. Reyes wrote her order from earlier this year, given the Supreme Court's ruling, is "no longer in effect." An appointee of former President Biden, Reyes also noted the plaintiffs "do not intend to file an amended complaint." The Department of Homeland Security officially terminated TPS for Haitians on July 27. The Obama administration initially granted Haitians TPS in 2010 after an earthquake struck the Caribbean island. In revoking TPS for Haitians, the Trump administration argued the conditions in the country no longer justify the designation. The State Department, though, warns Americans against traveling to Haiti over risks associated with "crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited health care." Roughly 330,000 Haitians with TPS lived in the U.S. as of January, according to a report from the immigration advocacy group Fwd.us. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was preparing last month to ramp up arrests and deportations of Haitians once their TPS expired, CBS News reported.