Washington DC - A federal judge recently blocked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from abruptly terminating Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants.

In an 83-page ruling filed on Monday night, US District Judge Ana C. Reyes argued that if granted, the termination would put the more than 300,000 Haitian immigrants under TPS at risk of being detained and deported to their violence-torn homeland.

The ruling came in response to an order of termination filed by Noem, who argued that Haitians were draining the US government's resources.

Reyes dismissed Noem's arguments, writing, "Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight.

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"She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed, lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable," the judge continued.

"This approach is many things – in the public interest is not one of them," she added.

The judge also echoed concerns from immigration rights groups that Noem and President Donald Trump's administration are targeting the Haitian community because of their race.

Reyes pointed to a social media post in which Noem announced a travel ban, which included Haiti, and described immigrants from those countries as "killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies."

Reyes concluded that Noem does not have the facts or the law "on her side," yet "she pounds X."

In an X post, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin suggested the administration plans to appeal the ruling, which she described as "lawless activism that will be vindicated on."

"Haiti's TPS was granted following an earthquake that took place over 15 years ago," she wrote. "It was never intended to be a de facto amnesty program.

"Temporary means temporary, and the final word will not be from an activist judge legislating from the bench," McLaughlin added.