Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on Mar. 16, urging the court to block the Trump Administration’s effort to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for certain Haitian nationals while ongoing litigation continues.
The case, Miot, et al. v. Trump, et al., centers on whether thousands of Haitian immigrants can retain protections that allow them to live and work in the United States as their home country faces ongoing instability and danger. TPS is a humanitarian status created by Congress for foreign nationals who cannot safely return home due to war, disaster, or other extraordinary conditions.
Haitian immigrants have been eligible for TPS since a major earthquake struck Haiti in 2010. The protections have been extended over time because of persistent unsafe conditions including violence and widespread hardship. On November 28, 2025, the Trump Administration announced it would end Haiti’s TPS designation effective February 3, 2026—despite no evidence that safety had improved and while the U.S. State Department maintained its highest risk warning against travel to Haiti.
A federal judge stayed this termination on February 2, allowing Haitians to keep their status during legal proceedings. The federal government appealed this decision up through the courts; after losing at both district and appellate levels, it has now asked the Supreme Court for permission to proceed with ending TPS before litigation concludes.
In their brief opposing this request for a stay, Clark and her colleagues argue that ending TPS would “separate families, damage economies, deplete workforces, increase health care costs, and harm public health and safety.” They say these effects would be “immediate and long-lasting” even if plaintiffs ultimately prevail in court.
The attorneys general note that many TPS recipients are essential workers—including health care providers and teachers—and contribute billions annually to the U.S. economy through high labor force participation rates among Haitian immigrants. Other states joining Vermont include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota New York Oregon Virginia Washington.
