NEW YORK, CMC – New York Attorney General Letitia James is among a coalition of 18 other attorneys general urging the United States Supreme Court to preserve the legal status of hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants, including many who have lived and worked here for over a decade.
Last week, US President Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court for a stay that would let his administration end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians, after a lower court ruled that the administration had violated the law when it attempted to terminate the critical protections.
In an amicus brief filed on Monday, James and the coalition argue that terminating TPS for Haitians would jeopardise public health, public safety, and local economies, while upending the lives of countless families and devastating communities across the United States.
“Our nation was founded as a land of opportunity and refuge for those fleeing danger or instability. Now, the Trump administration seeks to break that promise and send thousands of hardworking immigrants back to a country facing extraordinary violence and instability.
“Our communities depend on, and are strengthened by, our immigrant neighbours. I am imploring the Supreme Court to do the right thing and protect these families from being needlessly torn apart,” said James.
Following a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, James noted that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) granted TPS to immigrants from the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to escape unsafe conditions and political instability.
She said the federal government has extended this protection multiple times since the initial designation, “as instability and safety concerns in Haiti have persisted and, in recent years, worsened.”
But, despite the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Haiti, the New York Attorney General said the Trump administration last year moved to end protections for Haitian TPS holders – nearly a quarter of all TPS holders nationwide.
James and the coalition argue that eliminating TPS for Haitians would cause chaos for hundreds of thousands of families, including the many US citizens who live with a Haitian family member with TPS.
As of 2022, the attorneys general say more than 200,000 US citizens, including about 87,000 children, were living with a Haitian TPS holder, and that revoking these individuals’ legal status would put countless families in “an impossible position.
“Parents with TPS would be forced to choose between abandoning their children and returning to Haiti alone, taking their families with them to a dangerous and unfamiliar country, or remaining in the United States without legal status and with the constant fear of separation and deportation,” they say.
The attorneys general explain in the amicus brief that canceling the legal status of Haitian TPS holders would also harm states’ economies, public health, and public safety.
“Haitians are critical members of New York’s workforce, filling essential roles in healthcare, education, construction, and other industries,” says the coalition, stating that at least 56,000 Haitian New Yorkers currently have TPS.
“Terminating their legal status would jeopardize their work permits, harming local economies and making it harder for families to make ends meet,” the coalition argues, adding that Haitian TPS holders pay over US$140 million annually in New York state and local taxes and contribute over US$800 million to the state’s economy.
The coalition also says that ending work authorizations would deprive many families of employer-sponsored health insurance, “making it harder for vulnerable people to access care and increasing public health risks.
“Without legal status, Haitian immigrants and their loved ones may also be less likely to seek treatment at hospitals and clinics, report crimes, serve as witnesses, or otherwise interact with law enforcement,” the coalition said.
Last month, James co-led 17 other attorneys general in a similar amicus brief urging the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to protect TPS for Haitians.
In November 2025, she led 15 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of TPS for Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants. In September 2025, Attorney General James co-led a coalition of 18 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the US District Court for the District of Columbia defending TPS for Haitian immigrants.
The San Diego, California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) has also applauded US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts for her “continued leadership” in championing TPS extension for Haitian nationals and filing a discharge petition that could compel the US House of Representatives to take up legislation to extend TPS for the Haitians living in the United States.
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