OAKLAND, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a coalition of 18 attorneys general urging a federal appeals court to block the termination of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status as legal proceedings continue, according to a press release from the California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General.
According to the press release, in an amicus brief filed in Lesly Miot v. Trump before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the coalition asked the court to deny the Trump administration’s request to reinstate its decision to end Haiti’s TPS designation. The administration is seeking to stay a ruling issued Feb. 2 by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that postponed the termination’s effective date.
The press release describes how on Nov. 28, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security published a Federal Register notice terminating Haiti’s TPS designation, which became effective Feb. 3, 2026.
Judge Reyes temporarily delayed that termination one day before it was set to take effect. The press release further explains that if the appellate court grants the administration’s request, hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals could lose their authorization to live and work in the United States while the case proceeds.
TPS is a federal humanitarian program that allows nationals of designated countries to remain in the United States when conditions such as armed conflict, natural disasters or extraordinary instability make returning unsafe. Additionally, the press release states that Haitian TPS holders represent nearly one quarter of all TPS recipients nationwide.
Many have resided in the United States for more than a decade, have established families and businesses, bought homes and contributed to their communities. Revoking these protections would subsequently force families who have established lives in the United States to return to unstable living conditions.
The coalition argued that lifting the district court’s postponement would result in immediate and irreparable harm. Additionally, their filing cites potential impacts including family separation, economic disruption, reduced public revenues, diminished access to employer-sponsored health insurance and broader public safety concerns.
The brief notes that DHS acknowledged “concerning” conditions in Haiti in its November termination notice, including escalating violence and internal displacement. The press release explains that the U.S. Department of State continues to classify Haiti as “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” its highest advisory level.
Bonta, alongside Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and New York Attorney General Letitia James, led the filing. Furthermore, the press release states that attorneys general from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia joined the brief.
The court has not yet ruled on the administration’s request to stay the district court’s order.
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