Hundreds of thousands of Haitians face imminent arrest and deportation after the Trump administration stripped them of humanitarian protections. A U.S. district judge, Ana Reyes, confirmed her order blocking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from ending temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti is no longer in effect. This follows the Supreme Court ruling in June that upended judicial review of the program and opened the door for immigration enforcement to track down and detain Haitians en masse.

Enacted by Congress in 1990, TPS protects people who are already in the U.S. when a natural disaster, epidemic, armed conflict or other extraordinary circumstance makes their home country unsafe. TPS holders have added an estimated 262bn to the U.S. economy since 2001, and many work in essential sectors. The Trump administration has terminated TPS designations for some of the most dangerous countries, leading the court to authorize ending the program for Haiti and Syria.

More than 300,000 Haitians lost TPS overnight. Removal orders for Haitians in immigration courts have surged by 96% between March and June, and officials are outfitting them with ankle monitors. They face an impossible choice: remain without status and risk arrest or return to a Haiti marred by gang violence and collapsed services.

Thousands of Syrians and smaller groups from El Salvador, Ukraine, and Sudan may also be at risk after losing TPS. Businesses are forced to let go of skilled workers, worsening labor shortages. Haitian advocates are urging the Senate to extend TPS legislatively, a bill that already passed the House in April.