In this fast-moving case, it’s possible that as soon as Thursday the circuit court could take action, which potentially could include suspending the district court’s order that paused the termination of Haiti’s designation, said Geoff Pipoly, lead counsel for TPS holders from Haiti.
“There’s absolutely a possibility it could be stayed on the 19th,” he said. “The court could rule 5 seconds after they get the reply brief.”
This could have major consequences for Springfield, which is home to an estimated 10,000-15,000 Haitian immigrants, many of whom are on TPS.
Pipoly said the government’s appeal will receive emergency consideration from a special circuit court panel even though he does not believe that maintaining the status quo and keeping Haiti’s designation in place creates any kind of urgent issues.
District of Columbia District Court Judge Ana Reyes recently made it clear in her comments during a court hearing that she thinks allowing the termination to go into effect as the case proceeds and goes through the appeals process could cause significant harm to TPS holders, who would be subject to detention and removal. Attorneys for the Trump administration have claimed the government will be harmed if the TPS designation is not allowed to take effect.
Recent court drama
On Feb. 12, Judge Reyes denied the federal government’s request to stay her order from 10 days earlier that prevented the termination of Haiti’s TPS from taking effect.
Reyes ruled that U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not take mandatory steps required by Congress to lawfully end TPS for the Caribbean country. The federal government claims Noem acted within her authority and her decision is not subject to judicial review. The case is Miot v. Trump.
During a hearing in Reyes’ courtroom, Department of Justice attorney Dhruman Sampat objected to the notion that DHS would specifically target Haitians with TPS for detention and removal if their legal protection was revoked.
Sampat said Noem decided to terminate TPS for multiple foreign countries, and he thinks immigration enforcement actions that involve Haiti TPS holders would be “no different” than those for TPS beneficiaries from other nations whose protections were cancelled.
But Reyes wasn’t buying it. She said the Trump administration and Noem clearly singled out Haitian TPS holders in past statements, and she believes it is very likely that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would immediately start trying to detain and deport Haitian nationals if they lost protected status.
In one of multiple snippy exchanges with Sampat, the judge said, “You think the second this goes into effect, they won’t go after the Haitian TPS holders? They’ll just be like, ‘Oh, if we get some, we get some, and if we don’t, we don’t.’”
Reyes said lifting her stay would cause irreparable harm because there would be no realistic way for Haitian nationals to return to the United States if they were deported and later on the courts decided their removal was unlawful and they should have been allowed to stay.
She said the Trump administration has the addresses of TPS holders because they must provide that information to participate in the program and obtain work authorization. She said immigration authorities could use that information to try to quickly go after members of this group.
Sampat said TPS holders from Haiti might be “caught up” in immigration enforcement activities but he did not think the Trump administration was “uniquely focused” on Haitian TPS beneficiaries when he was questioned about this by Reyes.
Pressed by the judge for a response, Sampat said no court could force the federal government to bring the deported individuals back to the United States. He said there would still be different ways for them to return, but then admitted, “I can’t think of one on the spot.”
Sampat said some of the people who lose their TPS and who are put into removal proceedings would be able to seek a bond hearing before an immigration judge. Sampat also said the federal government has some addresses for TPS beneficiaries, but they are not necessarily current.
Liana Castano, assistant director of field operations with ICE, recently submitted a court declaration that says DHS did not plan any specific actions to mobilize immigration enforcement officers to areas heavily populated with TPS holders from Haiti, like Springfield and South Florida, in anticipation of the end of the country’s designation.
The legal battle now heads to U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Pipoly said the case is going to be considered by a special panel that is in charge of hearing emergency motions. He said normally this type of docket would be reserved for urgent situations like death penalty appeals when the execution date is rapidly approaching.
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