On Tuesday, January 6, 2026, a crucial hearing was held in Washington regarding the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) granted to Haitians. Judge Ana C. Reyes examined the Trump administration's arguments justifying the deportation of Haitian immigrants to a country that U.S. authorities themselves consider dangerous and unstable. She also confronted the government with the inconsistency between security reports, including the FAA's airspace closure, and the decision to deport 350,000 people.

Lawyers for the Haitian immigrants invoked the principle of administrative law that an agency's decision must be neither "arbitrary" nor "capricious". They emphasized that the State Department (through Marco Rubio) and the FAA (the aviation authority) classify Haiti as an area of ​​extreme danger. They insist that ordering the return of 350,000 people to an area where the government itself has grounded its own planes constitutes a "breakdown of logic" that renders the decision illegal.

The government maintains that the situation in Haiti has improved and that Secretary Kristi Noem has absolute discretion to grant or terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Haitians. It asserts that the law explicitly stipulates that this decision rests solely with the Secretary of Homeland Security, and that the courts do not have to rule on the definition of "National interest", even if that definition seems disconnected from the reality on the ground.

Judge Reyes reacted sharply, addressing the lawyer for the Department of Justice : "Listen to yourself. I understand you’re in a tough spot, but just take a breath and listen to yourself." Reyes points out here that the government's argument has become so absurd that it is uncomfortable for those defending it.

Faced with the government's argument invoking Secretary Kristi Noem's "total discretionary power," Judge Reyes resorted to the absurd : "What if Secretary Kristi Noem decided it was in the national interest to expel Haitians simply because she doesn't like vanilla ice cream? [...] Can the government invoke the national interest to mask a purely political or baseless decision ?"

Despite the severity of her remarks, Judge Reyes acknowledged the quality of the lawyers’ work before adjourning the hearing until Wednesday, January 7, 2026.

Should ben oted that if Judge Reyes follows the logic of her questions, she could issue a preliminary injunction that would block the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) pending a full trial, thus temporarily protecting the 350,000 Haitians from losing their work permits and facing deportation.

To be continued...

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46575-haiti-flash-a-federal-court-is-to-rule-on-the-legality-of-not-extending-temporary-protected-status-tps.html

SL/ HaitiLibre