April 2019: New York U.S. District Court Judge William Kuntz ruled in favor of the plaintiffs who alleged that Haiti’s TPS termination was illegal. The judge blocked the federal government from cancelling the designation, though DHS appealed.
January 2021: Joe Biden became President while the case was still in the appellate courts. DHS ultimately withdrew its appeal.
July/August 2021: Haiti’s president was assassinated. DHS redesignated and extended Haiti’s TPS.
July 2024: DHS Secretary extended and redesignated Haiti’s TPS through February 2026, citing rampant gang violence, food insecurity, economic troubles and environmental crises as conditions that made it unsafe for foreign nationals to return to the Caribbean nation.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
September 2024: While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump falsely claimed that Haitian people in Springfield were eating people’s pet dogs and cats. Trump also called for revoking Haiti’s TPS designation and sending Haitian nationals back to their homeland.
February 2025: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced that Haiti’s TPS designation period will end in August 2025, instead of February 2026.
February 2025: The National TPS Alliance files a lawsuit in federal district court in California challenging the Trump administration’s early cancellation of TPS for Venezuela. An amended complaint that was filed later on claimed the early cancellation of TPS for Haiti also was unlawful. Plaintiffs in the amended complaint included a Haitian national who lives and works in Springfield.
March 2025: California U.S. District Court rules in favor of the National TPS alliance and the other plaintiffs, saying Venezuela’s TPS designation should remain in effect pending a final decision in the case.
May 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court grants the federal government’s request to stay the district court’s decision, which allows the termination of Venezuela’s 2023 TPS designation to take effect. The Supreme Court’s order was issued on the court’s emergency docket (also known as the “shadow docket”).
July 2025: Five plaintiffs from Haiti, including a TPS holder in Springfield, file a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, DC, alleging that DHS violated the law when it ended Haiti’s TPS. The lawsuit, Miot v. Trump, claims the DHS Secretary acted with “discriminatory animus” and did not follow the required procedural steps to reach a valid determination about termination.
September 2025: The California district court grants plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment, restoring protections for TPS holders.
October 2025: The Supreme Court stays the district court’s September ruling in another order on its shadow docket.
January 2026: The U.S. Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit in California affirms the district court’s ruling that the Trump administration unlawfully ended TPS for Venezuela.
February 2026: Haiti’s TPS designation was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. But a day prior, on Feb. 2, U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes in Washington granted the plaintiffs’ request for a stay of DHS’ termination of the country’s designation.
Source: Court documents, National TPS Alliance, DHS
DIG INTO OUR HAITIAN COVERAGE
Clark County Sheriff’s Office to ‘maintain the peace’ as TPS ends, will not enforce immigration laws
WATCH: Haitian restaurant in Springfield struggles as federal protections near expiration
• What’s coming?: After some initially warned of an anticipated 30-day ICE surge following the end of TPS, school and state officials stressed they have had no direct communication with the feds about potential enforcement actions, but they are preparing for the possibility.
• A community in fear: Reporter Cornelius Frolik traveled the streets of Springfield with a translator and spoke to more than a dozen Haitian people living and working in the Springfield area. Most of them expressed feelings of uncertainty and dread about the TPS cancellation.
• Lawsuits: Area Haitians on TPS are pinning their hopes on a couple of lawsuits that challenge the legality of the federal government’s decision to cancel the TPS designation for Haiti. Here are the details on those lawsuits, including one involving a Springfield man.
• Keket: Our reporters sat down with a local restaurant owner concerned that immigration enforcement fears could close her business. Her compelling personal story is captured in writing and video here.
• Residents prepare: More than 80 people took part in an educational event at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Springfield Thursday evening, learning about their rights and those of their neighbors regardless of immigration status.
• Law enforcement: Local law enforcement officials say they will work to “maintain the peace” amid any ICE surge, but they won’t enforce federal immigration law.
• City leaders: The Springfield City Commission unanimously passed a resolution asking federal immigration agents to follow local rules when conducting enforcement activities.
• Politicians react: Our statehouse reporter Avery Kreemer reached out to politicians who represent Dayton and Springfield at the state and national level about their views on ending TPS and an ICE surge. Read that story here.
• How we got here: We have been reporting on the growth of the Haitian population in Springfield and its effect on the community for years. This story from the archive explains why so many Haitians relocated to Springfield, Ohio.
• Community survey: In addition to reporters interviewing residents on the street, we created an online survey to gather community perspective. I’ll have a summary of responses in an upcoming story.
• Dayton action: Several Dayton restaurants and other businesses closed Friday and hundreds of people gathered in front of U.S. Rep. Mike Turner’s Dayton office as part of the nationwide protest of ICE operations.
• VIDEO: What to know about Haitian immigration in Springfield
• VIDEO: Haitian immigrant community grows in Springfield
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