Haitian, Venezuelan groups sue over elimination of humanitarian visas; call it both illegal and racist

Groups representing Haitians and Venezuelans on humanitarian visas in Massachusetts today sued the Musk administration over its decision to end the program earlier than initially scheduled, with no chance for public comment and with odds that the thousands of affected people could be sent back to the same violent conditions the program was designed to help get them out of.

In a suit by for them by Lawyers for Civil Rights in US District Court in Boston, Haitian Americans United, which helps Haitians and Haitian-Americans in the Boston area, the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, the UndocuBlack Network and four individual refugees say the law that set up "temporary protected status" visas does not allow the program to simply be terminated with the snap of some short fingers and that, in any case, it's pretty obvious the administration of a man who started his first campaign by calling Mexicans rapists is obviously a racist, which is his right, except when it affects federal programs.

The list of dehumanizing and disparaging statements that Defendant Trump has made against Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants is unfortunately long: ranging from racist tropes that Haitians "all have AIDS" and eat dogs and cats, to routinely describing Venezuelans and other Latino immigrants as sub-human "animals." ... By contrast, Defendant Trump regularly praises immigrants from predominately white countries, expressly asking why the United States cannot have more immigrants from "nice countries, you know like Denmark, Switzerland…."

Moreover, this racial bias translates directly into policy, both through executive action that disfavors Black and Latino immigrants—such as the TPS decisions at issue here - and action that favors white immigrants instead. See Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa, Executive Order (EO) 14204, 90 Fed. Reg. 9497 (February 12, 2025) (directive requiring that white South African and their families be granted priority refugee status in the United States). The Constitution forbids this type of biased decision-making. 

The suit expounds:

Haiti has been designated under TPS since 2010 and Venezuela since 2021. Both nations are in collapse - beset by political violence and without functioning governments or basic infrastructure. For thousands of Haitian and Venezuelan nationals living in the United States, TPS is thus literally life-saving, allowing them to remain here instead of returning to the immense dangers of their home countries. With the work authorization that comes with TPS protection, Haitian and Venezuelan TPS holders hold jobs throughout the U.S. economy, have started and grown families in the United States, and are deeply involved in their communities.

But having long denigrated Haitian and Venezuelan immigrants as savages and "animals," and undeterred by the structures of TPS law, Defendant Donald J. Trump swept into the Presidency in January 2025 and immediately began undermining TPS protections. His DHS Secretary, Defendant Kristi Noem, within days of her confirmation "vacated" TPS extensions that had already been granted to Haiti and Venezuela. These unprecedented "vacaturs" purport to advance the end-date for Venezuela's TPS designation from October 2, 2026 to as early as April 2, 2025, and Haiti's from February 3, 2026 to August 3, 2025. Then, based on the "vacatur" of Venezuela's extension, Defendant Noem proceeded swiftly to announce that TPS would be terminated for that country entirely, effective April 7, 2025.

None of these actions are legal. The TPS statute does not authorize the Secretary to pull the rug out from under vulnerable TPS recipients and rescind an extension that has already been granted; she simply has no statutory authority to do so. ... And because the subsequent termination of TPS for Venezuela is based on the improper vacatur, it is also contrary to law.

Defendants' ultra vires conduct highlights an even more fundamental problem, which provides an independent ground for invalidating the challenged decisions: they are not evidence-based determinations based on the criteria required under the TPS statute, but rather are pre-ordained conclusions motivated by racial bias and improper political influence. The timing alone - with the first of the decisions coming mere days after Defendant Noem's confirmation as DHS Secretary - demonstrates that the decisions are not the reasoned determinations required by law.

The suit describes individual plaintiffs - all suing under pseudonyms - including:

Sydney and his family were forced to flee Haiti after receiving violent threats due to his government auditing work. Their safety became increasingly precarious, leaving them no choice but to seek refuge in the United States.

Sydney earned a bachelor's degree in accounting while in Haiti. He used his educational background to advise both private and government contractors in Haiti. Since arriving in the United States, Sydney has earned a master's degree in business administration. He is currently a successful real estate broker, business owner, consultant, and trained accountant. 34. As a licensed real estate broker, Sydney owns and operates his own real-estate firm. He also consults individuals and businesses on their homeownership, accounting, and tax needs.

Together with his wife Marlene, Sydney owns a three-family home in the Greater Boston area, where he and his wife are raising their 17-year-old son and 6-year-old son. Their eldest son was born in Haiti and is also a TPS recipient. He is currently a junior in high school earning exemplary grades. He is excited about entering his senior year in the Fall of 2025 and for the prospect of college beyond that. Sydney and Marlene's youngest son was born in the United States and is therefore a U.S. citizen. He recently started kindergarten in the fall of 2024.

Sydney is also renting a portion of their property, providing stable housing to several tenants.

The suit seeks a judicial declaration that the orders violate both the Administrative Procedures Act and the Fifth Amendment and an injunction barring the government from ending the TPS designations for Haitians and Venezuelans.