Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals expired Friday, exposing an estimated 500,000 people to potential deportation. Immigration advocacy groups filed for emergency relief in federal court after the Department of Homeland Security declined to extend the designation.

The protections, first granted after Haiti's 2010 earthquake and repeatedly renewed, allow beneficiaries to live and work legally in the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced earlier this year that conditions no longer met the statutory threshold for renewal.

Advocates dispute this determination, citing continuing gang violence in Port-au-Prince. The Haitian Bridge Alliance and the National TPS Alliance asked a federal judge to block the termination, arguing the decision was arbitrary and ignored State Department travel warnings against visiting Haiti. Similar litigation over Venezuelan TPS reached the Supreme Court in 2025, when justices allowed the administration to proceed with rollbacks.

Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, urged the administration to reverse course and warned of economic disruption in communities with large Haitian populations. Employers in healthcare and hospitality sectors said the lapse would strip them of legally authorized workers.

Department of Homeland Security officials said beneficiaries whose status expired should prepare to depart or pursue other legal avenues. The agency maintained that the designation was always intended to be temporary and that conditions in Haiti fell outside the program's legal criteria.