Judge won't pause ruling keeping in place temporary protections for Haitians in US

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A federal judge on Thursday refused to pause her ruling blocking the Trump administration from ending temporary immigration protections for Haitians living in the United States.

During the hearing in Washington, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes also addressed threats she had received since that decision Feb. 2. She read directly from profane emails and social media posts that called for her death.

Reyes said it was common for judges to receive such messages these days. She closed the hearing by saying they would not be intimidated.

She had granted the request to pause the termination of temporary protected status, or TPS, for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging the Republican administration’s effort to end it proceeds. Her ruling came a day before that designation for people from the Caribbean island nation had been scheduled to expire.

The designation allows roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the U.S., though it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship. The homeland security secretary may grant the designation if conditions in home countries are deemed unsafe for people to return due to a natural disaster, political instability or other dangers.

Haiti is one of several countries that President Donald Trump has sought to strip of such protections as part of his administration’s mass deportation effort.

Reyes was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden.