AG Clark Urges Supreme Court to Preserve Haitian TPS

AG: Vermont Press Releases

Filed March 16th, 2026

Detected March 20th, 2026

Summary

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark joined 19 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, opposing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals. The brief argues that ending TPS would cause significant harm to families, economies, and public health.

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What changed

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, as part of a coalition of 19 state attorneys general, has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Miot, et al. v. Trump, et al. The brief opposes the Trump Administration's attempt to overturn a lower court's decision that preserved Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals. The administration sought to end Haiti's TPS designation, which has been in place since 2010 due to ongoing unsafe conditions, including widespread violence and natural disasters. A federal judge had stayed the termination, but the government appealed, and the case is now before the Supreme Court regarding a motion for a stay.

The coalition argues that terminating TPS would lead to immediate and long-lasting harms, including family separation, economic disruption, workforce depletion, increased healthcare costs, and negative impacts on public health and safety. They urge the Supreme Court to deny the government's motion for a stay, emphasizing that TPS protections must be maintained while the underlying litigation challenging the termination proceeds. The brief highlights the critical contributions of TPS recipients to various sectors, such as healthcare, education, and construction, underscoring the detrimental effects of their removal.

What to do next

Monitor Supreme Court's decision on the motion for a stay in Miot, et al. v. Trump, et al.
Assess potential operational impacts if TPS for Haitian nationals is terminated.

Source document (simplified)

Attorney General Clark Urges Supreme Court to Preserve Block on Trump Administration's Unlawful Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian Nationals

Category Press Releases March 16, 2026 Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Miot, et al. v. Trump, et al. in the Supreme Court of the United States, opposing the Trump Administration’s effort to overturn a lower court’s decision to preserve Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for certain Haitian nationals while litigation on the termination of Haitian TPS continues.

TPS is a humanitarian immigration status created by Congress to protect foreign nationals who cannot safely return to their home country because of war, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. TPS allows recipients to live and work in the United States as long as their home country has a TPS designation. Haitian immigrants have been eligible for TPS since 2010, when a devastating earthquake hit the country. The protections have continuously been extended due to unsafe conditions in Haiti, including widespread violence, homelessness, and starvation.

On November 28, 2025, the Trump Administration provided notice that it would end Haiti’s TPS status, as of February 3, 2026, without any evidence that the dangerous conditions in Haiti had improved and despite the fact that the U.S. State Department continues to classify Haiti as a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” country—its highest risk designation. On February 2, 2026, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia stayed the Trump Administration’s decision to end Haiti’s TPS, which was set to expire the next day. This order preserved TPS protection for Haitians while the litigation over the lawfulness of the termination continues. On February 6, 2026, the federal government appealed this order and moved for a stay, asking the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to let them move forward with the termination despite the district court’s ruling. The coalition filed an amicus brief opposing the request for a stay, and the Court of Appeals denied the Trump Administration’s request. The federal government’s request for a stay is now with the Supreme Court.

In today’s brief, Attorney General Clark and the coalition urge the Supreme Court to deny the federal government’s motion for a stay, arguing that terminating Haiti’s TPS status would separate families, damage economies, deplete workforces, increase health care costs, and harm public health and safety. They argue these harms will be immediate and long-lasting, even if the Plaintiffs ultimately win their case, and TPS protections must therefore be maintained while the case proceeds.

Across states, thousands of TPS recipients provide important public services as health care providers, teachers, entrepreneurs, construction workers, and more. Stripping these individuals of their legal status would force them either to face life in uncertainty and vulnerability without legal protections from deportation and without the ability to work legally or to return to a country experiencing exceedingly dangerous conditions.

TPS-eligible Haitians contribute $3.4 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Approximately 69% of Haitian immigrants aged 16 and older were members of the civilian labor force in 2022, with high rates of participation in health care support and service industries. Furthermore, a recent estimate found that 75,000 TPS-eligible Haitians work in labor-short industries.

In submitting their brief, Attorney General Clark and the coalition are asking the Supreme Court to deny the federal government’s motion for a stay and protect the hundreds of thousands of Haitians legally in the United States under the TPS program while the litigation proceeds.

Joining Attorney General Clark in submitting this brief are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington.

A copy of the brief is available on our website.

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171