Raoul and Coalition Urge Court to Postpone Trump Administration’s Early Terminations of TPS Designation for Haitians and Venezuelans
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today joined a multistate coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Trump administration’s early terminations of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Haitians and Venezuelans.
In the brief that was filed in Haitian-Americans United, et al., v. Trump, Raoul and the coalition urge the court to grant the plaintiffs’ request to postpone the terminations while litigation challenging the termination proceeds, arguing the terminations would irreparably harm Illinois and the coalition states' families and economies.
“Haitians and Venezuelans who hold TPS designations have fled conflicts and environmental disasters in their home countries. Temporary Protected Status helps these immigrants work toward a better life for their families while also contributing to the nation’s workforce,” Raoul said. “I am the proud son of Haitian immigrants, and I know firsthand that Haitians, as well as Venezuelans, make key contributions to their communities and our state and national economies. I am committed to standing with my fellow attorneys general to protect processes that provide a path for TPS holders to work toward permanent residence in the U.S.”
TPS is a U.S. humanitarian program that allows nationals of designated countries to legally stay in the U.S. for a specified period of time due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions in their homelands. Despite ongoing humanitarian crises in both Haiti and Venezuela, the Trump administration has partially terminated TPS for Haitians and fully terminated TPS for Venezuelans who received that legal status in 2023. The respective terminations decrease the amount of time Haitian TPS holders are allowed to stay in the U.S. from 18 months to just 12 months and will imminently subject Venezuelan TPS holders to deportation.
The Trump administration’s terminations of TPS for Haitians and Venezuelans strip these TPS holders of legal status and protections, subjecting them to detention and deportation, and preventing them from working legally. Termination of TPS status designations is estimated to impact nearly 260,000 Haitian TPS holders and a large number of the current 600,000 Venezuelan TPS holders across the country.
Raoul and the coalition caution that the early terminations would deplete the states’ workforces and economies, compromise public health and safety, and painfully separate children and families. The brief explains Illinois and the coalition states would face significant costs specifically related to rehiring or recruiting care workers to fill positions left vacant by TPS holders, as care-giving positions can be challenging to fill in both the private and public sector.
In the brief, Raoul and the attorneys general also recognize that the removal of work authorizations caused by the terminations of TPS would also deprive many TPS holders of employer-sponsored private health insurance. Additionally, terminations would compromise public safety because undocumented individuals who fear detention and deportation are less likely to report crime or engage with law enforcement, even when they are the victims.
Furthermore, the coalition describes how the terminations of TPS would risk the traumatic separations of citizen children from their TPS-holding parents, tearing apart families and communities. The coalition cautions that the fear of deportation caused by the terminations would adversely impact the mental health of children and families, which could lead to decreased school attendance and other community-based activities.
Joining Attorneys General Raoul in the filing of the amicus are attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
