The dispute over Haitians’ temporary protected status played out in part as a test of whether federal officials would act as the government sought, or whether a judge’s order would constrain the next steps while a lawsuit proceeds. On Thursday in Washington, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes declined to pause the decision that blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protected status for Haitians living in the United States, even as the government argued for a stay while the case continues. The judge made clear in court that she viewed the timing and human impact as central to the request.
Reyes had issued the underlying ruling last week, according to the Associated Press, blocking the termination of temporary protected status for Haitians while the challenge to the administration’s effort moves forward in federal court. The scheduled end date for the protection was set for the day after Reyes ruled, placing pressure on the question of whether she should halt the effect of her decision while it is reviewed.
At Thursday’s hearing, the judge said she was hesitant to share the messages she reported receiving after her Feb. 2 ruling, but she read them anyway. Reyes told the court she had consulted colleagues beforehand and then read directly from two messages, including one that called for her to “eat a bullet,” according to the AP report.
Reyes also addressed the criticism and threats she said her ruling engendered, and she defended the work of other judges who, she said, now regularly receive similar communications. In the hearing, she told those present, “We will continue to do our jobs as best as we know how,” and “We will not be intimidated,” the report said.
The Justice Department, represented at the hearing by attorney Dhruman Sampat, argued that Reyes should issue a stay in part because the administration said it was likely to prevail on its claim that she lacked authority to review the decision to end Haiti’s temporary protected status. Sampat also said the administration had no plans to target Haitian TPS holders for removal if Reyes paused her order, the AP said.
Reyes rejected the assurances. She said absent her order it was “likely” that “law-abiding” Haitian TPS holders who she described as having contributed to the economy would be picked up by immigration agents and held in detention centers indefinitely, according to the AP report. When Sampat moved on from the discussion, Reyes cut him off and said she wanted people to see what happens when courts deal with “human lives in a democratic society,” the report said.
In her remarks, Reyes added that she was not the subject of the threats because of personal identity traits, responding to what she described as misconceptions about her. The AP report said the Biden administration had described Reyes as the first Hispanic woman and “openly LGBTQ person” to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Reyes told the court she was a federal judge not because she was a “foreign-born lesbian,” adding that she graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and spent more than 20 years handling high-profile federal litigation at a law firm.
Reyes also said she had never hidden that she was an immigrant from federal officials, according to the AP report. She then told the court, “People are entitled to their views,” and that she “absolutely” had “no problem with anyone disagreeing,” before she said she felt compelled to correct misconceptions, the report said.