Judge Grills DHS Lawyers on Terminated Immigrant Protections

A Washington, DC federal judge pressed lawyers for the Trump administration on how Haitian immigrants targeted for removal from the US could safely return to a country deemed unsafe for travel by the government.

Judge Ana C. Reyes noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio identified “immediate security challenges” in the country last year. The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits civilian US aircraft from operating in portions of Haitian airspace because of security forces’ inability to prevent attacks from terrorist groups, she said.

“Can you explain to me how it’s safe to return to a country or live in a country when it’s not even safe to fly into that country?” she asked.

The District Court for the District of Columbia case is one of multiple legal challenges to the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti, stripping lawful status and work authorization for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants in the US.

TPS allows immigrants from designated countries to stay in the US for up to 18 months when conditions like armed conflict make it unsafe to return. The DHS under the Trump administration has voided 12 designations for 11 countries, drawing lawsuits in courts across the country.

A New York judge blocked the agency last year from removing TPS protections early for Haitians in the US. But the agency months later issued a Federal Register notice that it would remove protections when they’re set to expire in February, arguing that conditions had improved enough in the country to remove protections.

Reyes probed government lawyers over the decision to remove protections for Haitians. When Justice Department attorney Dhruman Sampat said he wasn’t a foreign policy expert in response to her query on air travel, Reyes responded “I’m just asking as a matter of logic.”

She also asked why it’s a national interest to remove Haitians. The government has argued that the secretary has broad discretion to make determinations of the national interest that can’t be reviewed by the courts.

Reyes asked whether Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem could decide it’s in the national interest to remove Haitians because she “doesn’t like vanilla ice cream.” Sampat quipped that it could be a possible economic consideration for a decision.

“Listen to yourself,” Reyes said. “I understand you’re in a tough spot, but just take a breath and listen to yourself.”

Hearings on the litigation will continue Wednesday. Reyes said before adjourning that her critiques of government attorneys have generated significant press coverage. She added that counsel for DHS had done a “phenomenally good job” in the hearing.

Plaintiffs are represented by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, Giskan Solotaroff & Anderson LLP, and Just Futures Law. The government is represented by the Department of Justice.

The case is Miot v. Trump, D.D.C., No. 1:25-cv-02471, motion hearing held 1/6/26.