Work permits for Haitian TPS holders remain valid, government says

U.S. immigration officials have announced that work permits for Haitians with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) remain valid, one day after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s move to end the program.

According to an update posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services site Wednesday, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued under Haiti’s TPS designation with an original expiration date of Feb. 3, 2026, are automatically extended because of the decision in Miot et al. v. Trump, which stayed the program. An EAD is the federal document that allows TPS holders and other eligible immigrants to work legally in the United States. Without a valid EAD, beneficiaries can lose authorization to work even if they remain in the country.

The federal notice came one day after U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes halted the administration’s attempt to terminate TPS for Haitians, preserving deportation and work protections for more than 350,000 people just before the program was set to expire.

In her ruling, Reyes said the government did not follow proper procedures in trying to end Haiti’s TPS designation. She warned that suddenly stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of people would strain the immigration enforcement system and harm the economy. She also wrote that the record suggested racial animus was behind the sudden termination decision.

The ruling pauses the would-be termination, but does not itself renew or redesignate TPS. Still, immigrant advocates and Haitian community leaders have welcomed the decision as critical relief against the threat of mass job loss and deportation.

On its TPS Haiti webpage, DHS also directs applicants to its “Explore My Options” page, which lists other possible immigration pathways depending on eligibility, including family-based, humanitarian and employment-based categories.

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