MARYLAND- Maryland’s attorney general is joining other states in asking a federal appeals court to keep in place a pause on the Trump administration’s effort to end protections for Haitian immigrants.
Anthony G. Brown and attorneys general from 18 other states filed an amicus brief in Miot, et al. v. Trump, et al. in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The filing asks the court to deny the federal government’s request to move forward with ending Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, while the case is still being litigated.
TPS is a humanitarian immigration designation created by Congress. It allows people from certain countries to live and work in the United States if conditions in their home country make it unsafe to return. Haiti has been designated for TPS since 2010, after a major earthquake. The status has been extended several times because of ongoing violence and instability in the country.
According to the attorney general’s office, on Nov. 28, 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to end Haiti’s TPS designation effective Feb. 3, 2026. A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order on Feb. 2 temporarily blocking that decision while the lawsuit proceeds.
The federal government appealed that ruling and asked the appeals court to allow the termination to take effect despite the lower court’s order.
In a statement, Brown said ending TPS would separate families and affect Maryland’s workforce. The coalition argues in its brief that terminating the designation could harm state economies and public health systems.
According to the filing, TPS-eligible Haitians contribute an estimated $3.4 billion annually to the U.S. economy. The brief also states that about 69% of Haitian immigrants age 16 and older were part of the civilian labor force in 2022, including many working in health care and service industries.
Maryland is home to a growing Haitian community, including residents who live and work in the state under TPS, according to the attorney general’s office.
Attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington also joined the brief.