A federal judge in New York has ordered a halt to the Trump administration’s bid to revoke temporary legal protections for Haitian migrants.

In a 23-page ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Brian Cogan said Trump’s Department of Homeland Security had illegally moved to hasten the expiration of the legal protections, which had been extended until February 2026 under former president Joe Biden.

An estimated 5,20,000 Haitians living in the United States are covered by the protections.

The United States grants Temporary Protected Status to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other ‘extraordinary’ conditions.

Struck by a devastating earthquake in 2010 and again in 2021, Haiti has suffered from political instability for decades and over the past year has seen soaring violence by armed groups.

Soon after Trump took office in January, DHS secretary Kristi Noem ordered TPS for Haitians to end in August 2025 instead of February 2026.

She similarly moved to advance the TPS end-date for several Latin American nations.

A judge in March blocked such an order for Venezuela, but the Supreme Court later allowed it to move ahead while lower courts considered the case.

Last week, DHS confirmed the August end-date for Haitians and said deportations could begin in early September.

It argued that the ‘environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.’

The US State Department however advises all Americans not to travel to Haiti ‘due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited health care.’

The UN has meanwhile warned of increasing instability in the Caribbean nation, with almost 1.3 million forced to flee their homes due to gang violence.

Cogan’s ruling comes just days after the US Supreme Court delivered a major decision limiting district judges’ ability to issue nationwide blocks of Trump administration policies.

Cogan said his order was nonetheless still permitted as it fell under a procedural law not addressed by the Supreme Court ruling.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, a key force behind Trump’s anti-migrant policies, reacted to Tuesday’s ruling on X by saying ‘the left is waging nonstop legal warfare to end our sovereignty.’