Maryland AG Joins Coalition Urging Supreme Court to Maintain Protections for Haitian Nationals

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown has joined a coalition of 19 state attorneys general in advocating for the preservation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals. The coalition filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in a case concerning the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Haitians. This legal action seeks to maintain TPS protections for eligible individuals while ongoing litigation challenges the lawfulness of the termination.

Temporary Protected Status is a federal designation established by Congress to provide a humanitarian safety net for foreign nationals who cannot safely return to their home countries due to ongoing armed conflicts, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. Individuals granted TPS are permitted to reside and work legally in the United States for the duration of their country’s designation. Haitian nationals have been eligible for TPS since 2010, following a catastrophic earthquake that devastated their country. These protections have been repeatedly extended by the government due to persistent unsafe conditions in Haiti, including widespread violence and severe humanitarian crises.

In November 2025, the Trump administration announced its intention to end TPS for Haiti, setting an effective date of February 3, 2026. This decision was made without documented evidence of improved conditions in Haiti, a country that the U.S. State Department continues to classify as “Level 4: Do Not Travel,” its highest risk advisory. A federal judge subsequently issued a stay on the termination, preserving TPS for Haitian nationals just one day before it was set to expire. The federal government appealed this ruling, seeking to allow the termination to proceed during the litigation. An appellate court denied the government’s request for a stay, leading to the current appeal before the Supreme Court.

The amicus brief filed by Attorney General Brown and the coalition argues that terminating TPS for Haitians would lead to significant and lasting negative consequences. These include the separation of families, disruption to economies, depletion of workforces, increased healthcare costs, and detrimental impacts on public health and safety. The brief emphasizes that these harms would be immediate and severe, regardless of the ultimate outcome of the legal case, making it imperative to maintain TPS protections throughout the litigation process.

Recipients of TPS status play vital roles across various sectors in states nationwide. They are employed as healthcare providers, educators, entrepreneurs, and construction workers, among other essential professions. The removal of their legal status would create immense hardship, forcing them to confront the risk of deportation without legal protections or the ability to work legally, or to return to a country grappling with extreme danger.

Economically, TPS-eligible Haitians contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, generating an estimated $3.4 billion annually. Data from 2022 indicated that approximately 69% of Haitian immigrants aged 16 and older were part of the civilian labor force, with a notable presence in healthcare support and service industries. Further analysis suggests that as many as 75,000 TPS-eligible Haitians are employed in industries experiencing labor shortages.

Maryland is home to a growing Haitian community, with many TPS recipients contributing to the state’s workforce and local communities. These individuals are integrated into critical sectors such as healthcare, hospitality, construction, transportation, and public service. The legal action undertaken by Attorney General Brown and the coalition aims to ensure that these individuals are not forced to leave the United States or face an uncertain future while legal challenges to the TPS termination are resolved.

The attorneys general joining Maryland in this brief represent California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office

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