Amicus Curiae Brief — Markwayne Mullin, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, et al., Petitioners v. Dahlia Doe, et al.
Supreme Court briefApr 13, 2026
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No. 25-1083 & 25-1084
In The
Supreme Court of the United States
Markwayne Mullin,
Secretary of Homeland Security, et al.,
Petitioners,
v.
Dahlia Doe, et al.,
Respondents.
Donald J. Trump,
President of the United States of America, et al.,
Petitioners,
v.
Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot, et al.,
Respondents.
On Writs of Certiorari to the U.S. Courts of Appeal
for the D.C. and Second Circuits
BRIEF OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF
LABOR & CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL
ORGANIZATIONS (“AFL-CIO”) AND ELEVEN
AFFILIATED LABOR UNIONS AS AMICI CURIAE
IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS
Matthew Ginsburg
Andrew Lyubarsky
Counsel of Record
Hannah Cohen Smith*
AFL-CIO
815 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
alyubarsky@aflcio.org
(202) 637-5115
*Admitted in ME only. Practice in D.C.
supervised by D.C. Bar members.
Mosaic - (301) 927-3800 - Cheverly, MD
49261_Ltrhd.indd
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6/11/08
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE.............................. 1
INTRODUCTION AND
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT..............................
6
ARGUMENT ............................................................. 10
I. DHS’s Decision to Terminate Haiti’s TPS
Designation Will Harm, Not Help, U.S.
Workers............................................................ 10
A. DHS’s conclusion that extending Haiti’s
TPS designation would cause “adverse
effects on U.S. workers” was arbitrary
and capricious; instead, impacts from
the termination of Haiti TPS show that
the balance of equities and the public
interest tilt in Respondents’ favor............. 10
B. Insight from amici shows that
terminating Haiti’s TPS designation
would cause significant harm to U.S.
workers and the economy.......................... 13
CONCLUSION.......................................................... 26
iii
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Page
Cases
Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n v. State Farm Mut. Auto.
Ins. Co., 463 U.S. 29 (1983)....................................10
Statutes
8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1)(C)..............................................7
8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(3)(A)..............................................7
Administrative Materials
Designation of Haiti for Temporary
Protected Status,
75 Fed. Reg. 3476 (Jan. 21, 2010)............................6
Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for
Temporary Protected Status,
89 Fed. Reg. 54484 (July 1, 2024)............................6
Termination of the 2021 Designation of
Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status,
91 Fed. Reg. 10402 (Mar. 3, 2026)...........................8
Termination of the Designation of Afghanistan
for Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 20309 (May 13, 2025)..........................8
Termination of the Designation of Burma
(Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 53378 (Nov. 25, 2025)..........................8
Termination of the Designation of Cameroon
for Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 23697 (June 4, 2025)...........................8
Termination of the Designation of Ethiopia
for Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 58028 (Dec. 15, 2025)..........................8
iv
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page
Termination of the Designation of Haiti for
Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 54733 (Nov. 28, 2025)....................7, 11
Termination of the October 3, 2023 Designation of
Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 9040 (Feb. 5, 2025)..............................8
Termination of the Designation of Somalia for
Temporary Protected Status,
91 Fed. Reg. 1547 (Jan. 14, 2026)............................8
Termination of the Designation of South Sudan
for Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 50484 (Nov. 6, 2025)............................8
Termination of the Designation of Syria for
Temporary Protected Status,
90 Fed. Reg. 45398 (Sept. 22, 2025).........................8
Termination of the Designation of Yemen for
Temporary Protected Status,
91 Fed. Reg. 10402 (Mar. 3, 2026)...........................8
Miscellaneous
Beatrice Dain & Jeanne Batalova, “Haitian
Immigrants in the United States,” Migration
Policy Institute (Nov. 8, 2023), https://www.
migrationpolicy.org/article/haitianimmigrants-united-states-2022..............................13
Steve Eder, Danielle Ivory & Marcela Valdes,
“The Hidden Truth Linking the Broken Border
to Your Online Shopping Cart,” N.Y. Times
(Nov. 17, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/
2024/11/17/us/immigration-undocumentedmigrants-jobs.html..................................................19
v
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page
Donnelle Eller, “Beyond Ottumwa: Thousands
of Iowa, US meatpacking jobs at risk in migrant
crackdown,” Des Moines Register (Aug. 11,
2025), https://www.desmoinesregister.com/
story/money/agriculture/2025/08/11/trumpcrackdown-on-immigrants-could-costmeatpackers-20-of-workers-ice/85441314007.......20
Dee Gill, “Codifying the Nursing Home Industry’s
Elusive, Alarming Turnover Rates,” UCLA
Anderson Rev. (2021), https://anderson-review.
ucla.edu/codifying-the-nursing-home-industryselusive-alarming-turnover-rates............................15
Miriam Jordan, “Haitians Are Vital to U.S. Health
Care. Many Are About to Lose Their Right to
Work,” N.Y. Times (Jan. 29, 2026), https://www.
nytimes.com/2026/01/29/us/trump-tps-haitianshealth-care-job-losses.html.....................................16
Simón Rios, “As legal status is set to end for many
Haitians, Mass. health care sector braces for
staffing shortages,” WBUR (Aug. 7, 2025),
https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/08/07/haitianstps-massachusetts-trump-health-care................. 17
Simón Rios, “In meeting with members of Congress,
Haitians voice fears of losing legal status next
month,” WBUR (Jan. 21, 2026), https://
www.wbur.org/news/2026/01/21/congresshaitians-pressley-boston-tps-trump.................16, 17
Elizabeth Trovall, “Trump administration’s ending
of TPS for Haitians accelerates staffing crunch in
elder care,” Marketplace (Jan. 15, 2026), https://
www.marketplace.org/story/2026/01/15/end-oftps-for-haitians-could-devastate-elder-care.....15, 17
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES—Continued
Page
Jesús Villero, Brendan Warshauer & Youran Wu,
“Brief: 550,000 Workers Lose Status by End of
2025: Potential Impact by State and Industry,”
Penn Wharton (Nov. 19, 2025), https://
budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/
2025/11/19/demographic-and-labor-marketprofile-of-tps-beneficiaries..................................9, 24
1
INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE 1
The American Federation of Labor & Congress
of Industrial Organizations (“AFL-CIO”) is a federation of 65 national and international labor organizations with a total membership of nearly 15 million working people who are employed in every sector of this
country. The AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions strive
to ensure that every person who works in this country
receives decent pay, good benefits, safe working conditions, and fair treatment on the job and in the community. The AFL-CIO represents working people from every region of the world with all types of immigration
status, including Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”)
holders—many of them from Haiti—whose lives and
livelihoods are threatened by decisions of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to terminate their
countries’ TPS designations. All eleven other amici are
labor organizations affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
The Service Employees International Union
(“SEIU”) is a labor organization of approximately two
million members who work in the healthcare industry,
state and local government, and in property service industries, such as janitors, security officers, airport
workers, retail, distribution, laundry, and fast food
workers, and adjunct professors, throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. SEIU is the largest healthcare union in the United States with one million members nationwide, with its members working
in hospitals, ambulatory care centers, off-site provider-based clinics, nursing homes and home care settings. The decision by DHS to terminate the TPS designation for Haiti harms SEIU’s members and the
1 Amici certify that no counsel for a party authored this brief
in whole or in part; and that no person other than these amici
made a monetary contribution to its preparation or submission.
2
communities they serve, including SEIU members in
the healthcare sector, where tens of thousands of Haitian TPS holders are employed and provide critical
healthcare services. The decision to terminate the
TPS designations for Haiti, Syria, and many other
TPS-designated countries causes irreparable harm not
only to the over one million TPS holders and their communities but to U.S. workers and workplaces across
the United States, including SEIU members.
The American Federation of Teachers (“AFT”)
is a labor union that represents approximately 1.8
million members across the United States who provide essential services in education, healthcare, and
the public sector. Many AFT members are foreignborn, among them those authorized to work in the
U.S. through the TPS program across multiple designated countries, including Haiti and Syria. These
workers are public servants. They teach in our classrooms, care for patients, and serve our communities.
The AFT is greatly concerned about the harmful impact that ending TPS designations for Haitian and
Syrian nationals will have on its members, their families, colleagues, and the communities they serve. The
AFT’s interest extends further still, as members holding TPS from other designated countries face legal uncertainties that may turn on how this case is resolved.
The American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (“AFSCME”) is a
labor organization representing 1.4 million members
in the United States and Puerto Rico who serve in a
wide range of public-sector roles—from healthcare
and veterans’ home staff to nurses and corrections officers to transportation and infrastructure workers—
and who provide essential services to their communities. AFSCME represents members who are lawfully
present and authorized to work under TPS, including
3
members from Haiti and other TPS-designated countries. Although the cases before the Court arise from
efforts to terminate TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals, the Court’s resolution of those cases may
shape the security of TPS protections for nationals of
other designated countries as well. The continuation
of TPS is therefore critically important to AFSCME’s
members’ ability to remain employed, support their
families, and continue providing the vital public services their communities depend on. AFSCME participates in this case to protect its members’ rights and to
support policies that allow lawfully present workers
to continue contributing to the public good.
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (“UFCW”) is a labor union that
represents over a million workers across the United
States, Canada and Puerto Rico. UFCW is the largest
purely private sector union in the United States, with
the majority of its members working in the retail food,
meatpacking and food processing industries. Workers
from Haiti and other TPS-designated countries are
well represented among their ranks and are longstanding members who play a vital role in feeding
American families.
The International Association of Machinists
and Aerospace Workers (“IAM”) is a large and diverse international union representing nearly 600,000
active and retired members across aerospace, air
transport, rail, manufacturing, public sector, healthcare, and more. The IAM demands respect and dignity in the workplace and its communities, for all its
members and their families, including members legally working in the United States through the Haiti
TPS program. These Haitian national members are
vital contributors in the workplace, and integral to
our communities.
4
The Laborers’ International Union of North
America (“LIUNA”) is a union of over 530,000 workers who build and serve this country every day, including many who obtained authorization to work in
the U.S. through the TPS programs for citizens of Haiti, Myanmar, El Salvador, Venezuela, Honduras, and
Nicaragua. LIUNA was founded in 1903 by immigrant workers who believed that every worker who
labors with dignity deserves fair treatment, safe conditions, and a voice on the job. That promise still
guides LIUNA today.
UNITE HERE International Union (“UNITE
HERE”) is a labor union with approximately 300,000
members in the United States and Canada that primarily represents workers in the hotel, casino gaming, and food service industries. Service jobs in the
hospitality industry attract new immigrants as they
arrive and seek work opportunities in the United
States. As a result, UNITE HERE’s membership includes many immigrants who are temporarily authorized to work in the United States, including through
the TPS program. Haitian TPS holders make up a
significant number of members in locals representing
workers in Florida, New Orleans, Atlantic City, and
New York City. Those members and the employees
who work with them will be impacted by the termination of Haiti’s TPS program.
National Nurses United (“NNU”) is a labor union
that represents 250,000 registered nurses (“RNs”) in
the United States. NNU’s members work in acutecare hospitals and other healthcare facilities across
the nation. NNU’s RN members work side-by-side
with a wide variety of ancillary healthcare workers
including certified nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, technicians, and other support staff,
among whom Haitian TPS holders are well represent-
5
ed. NNU will be harmed by DHS’s termination decision because the abrupt departure of these valued coworkers will exacerbate the workload faced by already
understaffed and overworked RNs, particularly in geographies such as Florida and New York.
The International Union of Painters and Allied
Trades (“IUPAT”) represents 100,000 workers in the
finishing trades throughout the United States. Immigrants and their children founded the IUPAT, and immigrants give it life today. Termination of TPS designations will exacerbate existing skill shortages in
IUPAT-represented trades, principally in commercial
and industrial painting, drywall finishing, and glazing,
but also in residential construction, tradeshow, and
government work. Withdrawal of work authorization
for skilled and trained Haitian, Central American, and
other protected immigrant classes that have worked legally in the U.S. for years, or even decades, will harm
the IUPAT’s members, their families, our communities,
and economic activity in every corner of this country.
The International Union of Bricklayers and
Allied Craftworkers (“BAC”) represents 70,000
workers in the masonry trades across the United
States and Canada. These skilled craftworkers include bricklayers, stone and marble masons, cement
masons, plasterers, tilesetters, terrazzo and mosaic
workers, and pointers/cleaners/caulkers. BAC’s industry and membership include Haitian TPS holders.
The International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America (“IUECWA”) is the Industrial Division of the Communications Workers of America. The Union represents
40,000 workers across the country in a wide range of
manufacturing industries. IUE-CWA represents employees in at least one factory in the Mid-Atlantic
where a significant number of members are Haitian
6
TPS holders. IUE-CWA’s bargaining units across the
nation have already been harmed by DHS’s decision
to abruptly terminate parole programs in 2025, leading to sizable discharges in a field already facing a
workforce shortage. This situation will be exacerbated if Haitian TPS holders are also compelled to exit
the workforce.
INTRODUCTION AND
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
Amici are the AFL-CIO, America’s largest federation of labor unions, together with eleven of the AFLCIO’s affiliated unions, collectively representing millions of workers across a wide spectrum of industries,
including healthcare, education, manufacturing, food
processing, hospitality, transportation infrastructure,
and construction. In each of these sectors, our hardworking membership is comprised of American citizens and non-citizens alike, who work together to make
this country run. Prominent among our non-citizen
members are thousands of TPS holders from a variety
of countries—many of them from Haiti, whose TPS
designation is at issue in Trump v. Miot, No. 25-1084.
Some of these Haitian TPS holders have been employment-authorized incident to their status for 16
years, following Haiti’s initial designation in the aftermath of the destructive 2010 earthquake that took
over a hundred thousand lives. See Designation of
Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, 75 Fed. Reg.
3476 (Jan. 21, 2010). Others have arrived more recently as a result of what DHS in 2024 called “simultaneous economic, security, political, and health crises” following the July 2021 assassination of President
Jovenel Moise—crises that have left the country virtually ungovernable over the last four years. Extension and Redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Pro-
7
tected Status, 89 Fed. Reg. 54484, 54487 (July 1,
2024). All are valued members of our unions who have
offered their considerable skills to professions that
provide essential services to the public. And—given
the “extraordinary and temporary” conditions prevailing in Haiti today, where gangs have taken the place
of the government, over half of the country suffers
from food insecurity, and outbreaks of preventable
diseases such as cholera have become commonplace—
none can “return[] to [their home country] in safety.” 8
U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1)(C).
Despite the persistence of life-threatening conditions within the country, former Secretary Noem nevertheless decided to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation, stripping lawful status from over 330,000 people,
many of whom are employed in key industries, in one
fell swoop. See Termination of the Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 54733
(Nov. 28, 2025) (hereinafter, “Termination Notice”).
Contrary to statutory command, she did so without
engaging in any meaningful “consultation with appropriate agencies of the Government,” 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)
(3)(A), about in-country conditions in Haiti. See J.A.
672–77. And, in assessing where the “national interest” lay, 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(1)(C), the former Secretary purported to consider—among other issues—
“economic considerations” including “adverse effects
on U.S. workers.” 90 Fed. Reg. at 54735. Yet she did
so without evaluating any real-world information on
the workforce impact that removing hundreds of thousands of work‑authorized Haitian TPS holders would
have on industries that are core to our Nation’s economic health. See also J.A. 694 (finding that former
Secretary Noem “never considered whether . . . benefits [relating to Haiti TPS holders’ participation in the
workforce] exist at all”). As a result, thousands of
union members who hold TPS status under Haiti’s
8
designation sit on a knife’s edge, pending this Court’s
resolution of this case.
Nor do Haitian workers stand alone here. In addition to the termination of TPS for Syrians at issue in
Mullin v. Doe, No. 25-1083, DHS has terminated the
TPS designation of eleven other countries since January 2025—reaching the same preordained conclusion
with respect to each and every country whose designation was due for review. See J.A. 678 (cataloguing the
terminations of designations for Venezuela, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Honduras, South
Sudan, Burma, Ethiopia, and Somalia); 91 Fed. Reg.
10402 (Mar. 3, 2026) (terminating TPS for nationals of
Yemen effective May 4, 2026). And, with respect to ten
of the thirteen countries that saw their TPS determinations terminated, DHS intoned the same unreasoned boilerplate about “adverse effects on U.S. workers” that would purportedly result from an extension
of each country’s TPS designation.2 Thus, DHS’s prac2 See Termination of the Designation of Yemen for Temporary
Protected Status” 91 Fed. Reg. 10402, 10406 (Mar. 3, 2026); Termination of the Designation of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status, 91 Fed. Reg. 1547, 1550 (Jan. 14, 2026); Termination of the
Designation of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed.
Reg. 58028, 58031 (Dec. 15, 2025); Termination of the Designation
of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg.
53378, 53380 (Nov. 25, 2025); Termination of the Designation of
South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 50484,
50486 (Nov. 6, 2025); Termination of the Designation of Syria for
Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 45398, 45400 (Sept. 22,
2025); Termination of the 2021 Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 43225, 43227 (Sept. 8, 2025);
Termination of the Designation of Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 23697, 23698 (June 4, 2025); Termination of the Designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected
Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 20309, 20311 (May 13, 2025); Termination of
the October 3, 2023 Designation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status, 90 Fed. Reg. 9040, 9042 (Feb. 5, 2025).
9
tice of making pretextual findings calculated to justify
its preordained conclusion to terminate every TPS
designation presented to the agency for review clearly
includes an arbitrary assessment of the economic and
workforce impact of removing TPS holders from American workplaces.
Amici write to emphasize that, had DHS engaged
in any fact-finding to support its unreasoned conclusions concerning “adverse effects on U.S. workers,”
the agency would have discovered it was the arbitrary
termination of TPS designations—not their extension—that hurts American workers. As reports across
a variety of economic sectors demonstrate, mass layoffs of TPS holders will exacerbate labor shortages,
undermine U.S. workers’ terms and conditions of employment by requiring them to work more hours, and
deteriorate the quality of services for patients, consumers, and the public. TPS holders are overwhelmingly employed and have a labor force participation
rate of nearly 80%.3 Collectively, workers with TPS
added an estimated $35.9 billion to U.S. gross domestic product in 2023.4 Of this figure, they contributed
an estimated $5.5 billion to manufacturing, $5.0 billion to construction, and $3.4 billion to transportation
and warehousing—all sectors that are key to America’s prosperity.5
Jesus Villero, Brendan Warshauer, and Youran Wu, “Brief:
550,000 Workers Lose Status by End of 2025: Potential Impact
by State and Industry,” Penn Wharton Budget Model, (Nov. 19,
2025), https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/p/2025-11-19550-000-workers-lose-status-by-end-of-2025/.
3
4
Id.
5
Id.
10
DHS’s failure to consider these realities bears all
the hallmarks of arbitrariness set forth in Motor Vehicle Mfrs. Ass’n v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,
463 U.S. 29 (1983). This failure therefore provides
yet another basis strengthening the Miot and Dahlia
Doe plaintiffs’ likelihood of success on the merits of
their claims under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Moreover, because allowing the termination of Haiti’s
TPS designation would have profoundly harmful effects, the balance of the equities and the public interest, including that of America’s workers, weigh heavily in favor of a stay of agency action, which the
district courts correctly granted in both Miot and
Dahlia Doe. This Court should, accordingly, affirm
the orders below.
ARGUMENT
I. DHS’s Decision to Terminate Haiti’s TPS
Designation Will Harm, Not Help, U.S.
Workers
A. DHS’s conclusion that extending Haiti’s
TPS designation would cause “adverse
effects on U.S. workers” was arbitrary
and capricious; instead, impacts from the
termination of Haiti TPS show that the
balance of equities and the public
interest tilt in Respondents’ favor.
If allowed to take effect, DHS’s decision to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation will push hundreds of
thousands of workers out of the formal labor market.
In many sectors crucial to our economy and our society, this will be disastrous for U.S. workers. The Miot
district court agreed, finding that termination of Haiti’s TPS designation would seriously harm U.S. workers and the overall economy. J.A. 710–11. Indeed,
11
many employers will predictably seek to fill this arbitrarily inflicted labor shortage by requiring remaining workers to work mandatory overtime to meet
their staffing needs, diminishing U.S. workers’ quality of life, and leading to increased occupational injuries. Other employers will simply be unable to maintain a necessary level of production or services. They
will thus be compelled to lay off U.S. workers—or
even to close down.
The Termination Notice does not consider any of
these real-world consequences of expelling hundreds
of thousands of people from their jobs overnight. Instead, it references purported “adverse effects on U.S.
workers” that would occur if Haiti’s TPS designation
were extended, and asserts that people who overstay
nonimmigrant visas “can place an added strain on local communities by . . . competing in an already limited job market.” 90 Fed. Reg. at 54735–36. The Termination Notice, however, does not make any factual
findings in support of these determinations with regard to Haiti TPS holders. Instead, it appears to imply that the mere presence of lawfully-authorized Haitian immigrant workers in the workforce per se harms
their non-immigrant colleagues. That assumption is
baseless and contradicted by a bevy of economic data
relating to Haitian immigrants generally, and TPS
holders specifically, as well as by amici’s experience
across a wide variety of sectors of the economy.
This has two implications for this case. First, it
demonstrates that the district court correctly concluded that the public interest and balance of equities favor the Miot plaintiffs. J.A. 710–13. Preventing significant harm to other U.S. workers—as well as to the
consumers and patients who benefit from Haitian TPS
holders’ labor—weighs heavily in favor affirming the
order staying agency action in this case.
12
And, second, to the extent that any portion of DHS’s
“national interest” determination relies on unsubstantiated assertions about harms that would befall
U.S. workers as a result of an extension of Haiti’s TPS
designation, such a determination is arbitrary and
capricious in the most literal sense of the term. Cf.
J.A. 693–94 (holding that DHS failed to consider the
effects of “the loss of work authorization for all Haitian TPS holders and the resulting effects on employers, industries, and local economies”). It is based on
no evidence at all and contradicted by both abundant
evidence in the public record and by amici’s experiences as the leading representatives of U.S. workers
in a whole host of sectors where Haitian TPS holders
are employed. Instead, it appears that DHS made
the same unreasoned boilerplate reference to “adverse effects on U.S. workers” with respect to the termination of nine other countries’ TPS designations.6
This further reinforces the Miot plaintiffs’ contention
that the result of the former Secretary’s review was
preordained.
The Miot district court recognized the seriousness of
these consequences and determined that a stay is in
the public interest given “the critical roles that Haitian TPS holders play in workplaces across the country.” J.A. 710. The court acknowledged that these
workers “fill labor shortages in essential industries”
like healthcare, hospitality, food service, education,
and manufacturing—sectors “that already face labor
shortages and would be further destabilized by the loss
of this workforce.” J.A. 710–11. It also recognized the
“drastic impact” that removing Haiti TPS holders
would have “on co-workers’ workload and patient care
quality.” J.A. 711. In part because of the “indispens6
See supra n.2.
13
able roles” that Haiti TPS holders play in the U.S.
economy, and without any contrary evidence provided
by the Government, the court correctly determined
that the public interest warrants a stay. J.A. 711.
B. Insight from amici shows that
terminating Haiti’s TPS designation
would cause significant harm to U.S.
workers and the economy.
The experience of amici demonstrates the ways that
the mass expiration of Haiti TPS will touch almost all
aspects of our economy and all strata of our workforce.
Amici provide the Court with insight regarding five
particular sectors—healthcare, hospitality, food production, manufacturing, and construction—to show
how allowing for the termination of Haiti TPS without
accounting for these serious impacts would significantly harm U.S. workers and the public interest.
Haitian immigrants work across our nation in a variety of occupations, but have made particular contributions in the healthcare sector. As of 2021, the 103,000
Haitian healthcare workers comprised the sixth-largest immigrant group in this field,7 where the demand
for labor is high and understaffing and overwork is already the norm. And, because the Haitian immigrant
community is highly concentrated, with 66% residing
in just three metropolitan areas—Miami, New York
City, and Boston8—suddenly removing Haitian TPS
holders would have a drastic impact on their co-workers’ workload, and on the quality of patient care.
Beatrice Dain & Jeanne Batalova, “Haitian Immigrants in
the United States,” Migration Policy Institute (Nov. 8, 2023),
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/haitian-immigrantsunited-states-2022.
7
8
Id.
14
In the hospital setting, registered nurses who are
members of NNU work alongside other hospital workers who are vital to the safe delivery of patient care. If
thousands of hospital workers were suddenly unavailable to work because their work authorization was
terminated, RNs, their patients, and their communities would be severely impacted.
When the number of ancillary staff such as certified
nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses, technicians, environmental service workers, and food service workers is reduced, RNs are left to pick up the
slack, putting an increased burden on an already understaffed and overworked RN workforce throughout
Florida and New York. Instead of caring for patients,
RNs will be forced out of necessity to distribute meal
trays, answer phones, perform housekeeping duties,
transport patients, and spend additional time assisting patients with daily living activities like bathing,
dressing, grooming, and toileting that would otherwise be performed by nursing assistants. This in turn
will lead to extended wait times for emergency room
admissions, delayed blood draws, delays in administering medications, and delays in responding to call
lights when patients need immediate assistance.
SEIU represents thousands of healthcare workers
across New Jersey, New York, and Boston, and confirms that termination of Haiti TPS would create a
crisis in the already understaffed hospital and home
healthcare industries. This would include the loss of
an estimated 500 members who are nurses in New
York and Boston, and 3,000 or more members who
are home healthcare workers in New York. The sudden loss of these workers would have a particularly
significant impact in home healthcare, where understaffing is especially severe and Haiti TPS holders
make up an estimated 5% of SEIU’s 60,000 New York
15
home healthcare members. Employers would be
forced to mandate overtime which, in home healthcare, means working two 8-hour back-to-back shifts,
seven days in a row, risking heightened fatigue, injury, burnout, and further loss of staff. Across the
healthcare sector, patient care would suffer: staffing
shortages are closely linked with slower response
times, reduced assistance with daily needs, and weaker infection control. These consequences would have
a noticeable effect in home healthcare, where the provider is sometimes the only person the patient ever
sees. Reduced staffing would drastically impair the
relationships and consistency that are critical to the
care of home healthcare patients.
The nursing home industry that serves our nation’s
seniors will be affected even more directly. Even with
Haitian TPS holders present in the nursing home
workforce, where they make up a substantial portion
of entire departments,9 the industry continues to experience significant challenges, including short-staffing, high turnover, and staff burnout.10 In addition to
SEIU reports that, in some nursing homes where it has
members, Haiti TPS holders make up a substantial portion of
entire departments, particularly in housekeeping, dietary services, laundry, and direct care.
9
10 See Dee Gill, “Codifying the Nursing Home Industry’s Elusive, Alarming Turnover Rates,” UCLA Anderson Rev. (2021),
https://anderson-review.ucla.edu/codifying-the-nursing-homeindustrys-elusive-alarming-turnover-rates/ (“Averages . . . for
turnover at nursing homes are . . . 140.7% for RNs, 114.1% for
LPNs, 129.1% for CNAs—because some nursing homes have
annual turnover exceeding 300%.”); Elizabeth Trovall, “Trump
administration’s ending of TPS for Haitians accelerates staffing
crunch in elder care,” Marketplace (Jan. 15, 2026), https://www.
marketplace.org/story/2026/01/15/end-of-tps-for-haitianscould-devastate-elder-care (“[The] industry depends on Haitian
and other foreign-born workers as it faces a deficit of caregivers
16
contributing to exacting working conditions for healthcare workers, these challenges lead to negative outcomes for patient care. Removing tens of thousands of
qualified workers with Haitian TPS from this crucial
sector will exacerbate the situation, further overburdening the workers that remain, compromising care
for existing patients, and reducing capacity to admit
additional patients.11
Those representing the industry whole-heartedly
agree on this point. Senior care providers in Florida
and Massachusetts have gone on the record to emphasize the strain that the loss of Haiti TPS workers
would have on their facilities.12 According to an August 2025 report covering the health sector in Massachusetts, nursing home industry groups estimate that
nearly 2,000 caregivers across the state would be discharged due to the termination of Haiti’s TPS desigand other workers. This year, more U.S. elder care facilities
have had to downsize due to staffing shortages despite growing
demand . . . .”).
UFCW, which represents more than 11,000 nursing home
and assisted-living workers nationwide, confirms the same. It
notes that strict credential and eligibility requirements in the industry make it difficult to quickly hire replacement workers. One
UFCW business representative in Florida warns that ending TPS
would cause longer response times to call lights and would therefore increase the risk of injuries and falls among patients. Local
unions in the Greater New York region expressed concern that
employers may lower their hiring standards to find new staff, potentially compromising the quality of care and patient safety.
11
12 Miriam Jordan, “Haitians Are Vital to U.S. Health Care.
Many Are About to Lose Their Right to Work,” N.Y. Times (Jan.
29, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/29/us/trump-tps-haitians-health-care-job-losses.html; Simón Rios, “In meeting with
members of Congress, Haitians voice fears of losing legal status
next month,” WBUR (Jan. 21, 2026), https://www.wbur.org/
news/2026/01/21/congress-haitians-pressley-boston-tps-trump.
17
nation, with some facilities bracing to lose up to 20%
of their staff.13 In January 2026, a rehabilitation and
skilled care facility in Boston reported that the facility
would lose 40% of its dietary aides and 15% of its certified nursing assistants if the termination of Haiti
TPS took effect.14 This would exacerbate the impact
of downsizing in the elder care industry “due to staffing shortages despite growing demand” in 2025.15 The
loss of these valuable union workers would not only
affect patient care. It would also affect the terms and
conditions of employment of U.S. workers in the bargaining unit, who would be asked to “do more with
less” in grueling work environments characterized by
unsustainable patient-to-caregiver ratios.
The effect of the loss of Haiti TPS holders in the
healthcare industry is perhaps most poignantly demonstrated by the stories of individual union members.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of SEIU’s
home healthcare members would continue visiting
their clients when no one else would, and these members would often prepare meals for their clients for the
days that they were not there. SEIU’s Haiti TPS holders are also leaders in their workplaces. A longtime
nursing assistant in one facility serves as a shop steward for the union—this member mentors new hires
and helps raise patient safety concerns to the facility’s
management. Another member, a dietary worker,
trains new staff and ensures residents with specialized dietary needs receive appropriate meals. CoSimón Rios, “As legal status is set to end for many Haitians,
Mass. health care sector braces for staffing shortages,” WBUR
(Aug. 7, 2025), https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/08/07/haitianstps-massachusetts-trump-health-care.
13
14
Rios, supra, n.12.
15
Trovall, supra, n.10.
18
workers rely on these members for technical knowledge and language support. Losing workers like these
would create operational and leadership gaps in a severely understaffed system where this critical knowledge cannot be quickly replaced.
Many Haitian TPS holders are employed in the hospitality sector—a field that has also experienced
chronic labor shortages.
For instance, UNITE
HERE’s South Florida local reports that Haitian TPS
holders are present in all of its bargaining units, with
over 100 alone working for concessionaires at the Fort
Lauderdale Airport. If they were terminated, this
would lead to a serious effect on the local union’s members, both in the amount of work distributed among
them, as well as the chilling effect on members’ willingness to organize and assert their rights at work.
The same is true of UNITE HERE’s members in
New Orleans, approximately 100 of whom are Haitian
TPS holders, largely at one of two major hotels.
UNITE HERE estimates that one of these hotels
would stand to lose 75% of its housekeeping staff. As
a result, remaining workers will be forced to work
overtime as well as increase the number of rooms they
are expected to clean. Even with overtime, it is unlikely that the remaining workers will be able to handle the excess workload. If the hotel is unable to meet
demand for housekeeping services, it will likely be
forced to pause room reservations or severely reduce
its housekeeping services altogether, thus putting it
at a major competitive disadvantage in the market.
Many Haitian TPS holders have been UNITE HERE
union members for over a decade. They are among
the most senior and experienced workers on the job.
Some are longtime shop stewards or are otherwise regarded as natural leaders among their coworkers. For
instance, Haitian housekeepers have played a strong
19
role in UNITE HERE’s ongoing campaigns in New Orleans. They have led the fight to raise wages at union
properties, have led delegations and cafeteria rallies
to demand respect from management and better pay,
and are currently organizing in a campaign for a new
union contract. The loss of these workers will mean
more than just the loss of someone capable of doing
the work—it will be the loss of years of experience,
acumen, and leadership.
In UNITE HERE’s experience, workforce shocks of
this magnitude often lead employers to turn to temporary staffing agencies to supply workers. Such labor
agencies, in addition to undermining the wages and
working conditions for U.S. workers employed by the
hotels by paying substandard wages and benefits, often violate immigration law by hiring undocumented
workers.16 All in all, UNITE HERE predicts that it
will be harmed by a loss of members, subcontracting
of work outside the bargaining unit, and harsher
working conditions for existing members.
In food production, where UFCW represents several hundred thousand workers, the effects of DHS’s
labor market actions also portend to be dire. In Delaware and on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Haiti TPS
holders make up a significant portion of the poultry
processing workforce, especially in sanitation, live
hang, and de-boning. Losing these workers would destabilize operations immediately, particularly because positions like live hang are notoriously difficult
to staff and are essential to keeping poultry plants
running. Without adequate staffing in live hang, em16 Steve Eder, Danielle Ivory & Marcela Valdes, “The Hidden
Truth Linking the Broken Border to Your Online Shopping Cart,”
N.Y. Times (Nov. 17, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/17/
us/immigration-undocumented-migrants-jobs.html.
20
ployers are more likely to stop operations entirely
rather than rely on mandatory overtime from remaining employees. The ripple effect of closing these
plants would result in job loss for U.S. workers and
economic harm to local farmers and surrounding communities that buy the product.
The effects in meatpacking would be similarly devastating. According to the Meat Institute—the lobby
group for meat industry employers—approximately
20% of the country’s meat processing workforce stand
to lose their jobs as a result of the termination of several TPS designations, including that of Haiti, and the
Administration’s previous determination to end a parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and
Venezuelans (“CHNV parole”).17 Large and mid-sized
employers expect to lose up to one hundred workers at
some facilities, with facilities in Indiana, Iowa, and
North Carolina expected to be among those most affected. As a result, meat production is likely to decrease, disrupting supply chains and ultimately driving up consumer prices. Meanwhile, the remaining
workers will be expected to shoulder increased workloads to keep up with demand. This would include a
likely return to exhausting twelve‑hour shifts, seven
days per week—schedules that had only recently been
eliminated. One union local in Pennsylvania reports
that production lines or entire plants could temporar17 Donnelle Eller, “Beyond Ottumwa: Thousands of Iowa, US
meatpacking jobs at risk in migrant crackdown,” Des Moines Register (Aug. 11, 2025), https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/
money/agriculture/2025/08/11/trump-crackdown-on-immigrantscould-cost-meatpackers-20-of-workers-ice/85441314007. Notably,
many of these same workers had been designated as essential
during the COVID-19 pandemic, when President Trump invoked
the emergency powers of the Defense Production Act to force
meatpacking plants to remain open. Id.
21
ily shut down and unsafe conditions would increase if
employers were forced to rapidly hire inexperienced
replacements. These conditions increase the risk of
fatigue-related injuries, jeopardize worker safety, and
disrupt family life.
UFCW can reasonably predict the effect that the
loss of Haitian members with TPS will have on its remaining members and communities based on the effects suffered by its bargaining units following the rescission of CHNV parole. UFCW locals surveyed in
the Midwest reported over 500 terminations across
ten bargaining units in three states with 175 of these
occurring in one facility alone. As a result, UFCWrepresented plants implemented enhanced mandatory overtime requirements as companies struggled to
keep up with production demands while operating
with a reduced workforce. Short‑staffing on the meat
line also means greater safety concerns for workers in
an already dangerous industry; remaining workers at
these plants experienced increased injuries from excessive overtime. Finally, U.S. workers at nearby
businesses—particularly those dependent on hide
production—faced reduced hours and layoffs due to
the downstream effects of the decrease in production
in one rural town. Several local retail stores ultimately closed, and community leaders reported a noticeable decline in cash flow following the loss of Haitian
and other immigrant workers. The loss of Haitian
TPS holders from the poultry and meatpacking workforce will only exacerbate these conditions.
IUE-CWA presents a window into the effect that
DHS’s termination is likely to have in the manufacturing sector. IUE-CWA represents 40,000 manufacturing workers across the country, including approximately 6,000 employees at a home appliance
manufacturer in the Midwest. Even before DHS’s de-
22
cisions to abruptly terminate the Haiti TPS designation at issue in this case, IUE-CWA reports that this
facility had approximately 150 unfilled positions, and
had eliminated a shift due to lack of labor. As a result,
the employer announced that it was imposing mandatory overtime on all remaining workers, requiring
them to work 9 hours per day, until further notice, in
order to meet its production needs. Following the rescission of CHNV parole, the employer discharged almost 150 employees, causing the Union’s other workers to see their working conditions further degraded
by the need to meet the company’s production needs
with an ever-decreasing pool of workers.
As a result of the Termination Notice, IUE-CWA
fears that a similar story will unfold at two other
plants where it has members. One manufacturing
plant in the Mid-Atlantic employs over 1,000 people
who produce products for the residential energy market. Haitian TPS holders are a large part of the workforce at this plant, which is also experiencing a labor
shortage and high turnover rates. Every other week,
current bargaining unit employees are compelled to
work mandatory overtime. Haitian TPS holders are
scattered throughout the facility. If those workers
suddenly lose employment authorization, the employer will likely need to reduce production, which could
lead to product shortages, price increases, and supply
chain disruption for the residential energy market.
Another plant in Southwest Ohio has over 800 employees helping to produce automotive parts. Currently, around thirty bargaining unit members at
this facility have TPS under Haiti’s designation. This
plant is also facing a labor shortage and high turnover rates, with new employees hired on a weekly basis. The sudden loss of thirty employees would cause
significant disruption to the employer’s operations,
23
affecting the other hundreds of employees at the
plant. Moreover, SEIU predicts a similar fate at a
car part manufacturing plant in Ohio where it has
members. Haitian workers make up three quarters
of this plant’s workforce. This plant is likely to face a
temporary shutdown or a complete closure if Haiti
TPS is terminated.
Lastly, LIUNA’s experience demonstrates the
snowballing effects of the loss of Haiti TPS holders in
the construction industry. LIUNA represents members with Haiti TPS who work in construction in several states, including New York, Florida, Ohio, and
Tennessee. One bargaining unit consists of members
who work as landscapers, arborists, general laborers,
and those who do construction, demolition, and concrete work for a large entertainment venue in Florida.
More than 20 out of 900–1,000 members of this local
union would be lost because of termination of Haiti
TPS, and in construction, the loss of this many workers at once has rapidly escalating effects. Certain laborer projects are time sensitive; for example, concrete
must be ripped up and poured in the same day for it to
dry overnight and cure properly, and it must be ripped
up and re-poured if not properly completed. When
other workers have to step in and do the jobs of two or
three people because of the loss of co-workers, these
types of tasks are harder to finish on time. This creates a situation where scheduled inspections cannot
occur, and other craft laborers—such as ironworkers,
electricians, and plumbers—cannot start their work
until the construction workers finish their part of the
project. Such delays impede consumer access to hightraffic areas of the entertainment venue, making the
company lose money. Not to mention, the crew loses
critical skills and training from workers who have
been working alongside each other for many years.
24
The foregoing sectors are perhaps the most affected,
but they are not the only ones—TPS holders are 5.4
times more likely than U.S. born workers to work in
building and grounds cleaning and maintenance,
twice as likely as U.S. born workers to work in transportation and material moving, and play significant
roles in a range of other industries including sales,
business management, and administrative support.18 Amici represent many more Haiti TPS holders
who work in these other sectors: for instance, AFSCME represents a state employee who works for
the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, who,
as a Haiti TPS holder, went through the extensive
vetting process to earn a commercial driver’s license
that he needs to perform essential emergency accident
response and road maintenance services for the
state. In the depths of winter, for example, this member volunteers to travel outside his home county to
work overtime removing snow and ice, a critical service that all Pennsylvania residents rely on to commute safely. UFCW represents hundreds of members
who work at industrial laundries that service hospitals and hotels in New England. One local union president reports that these laundries stand to lose more
than 200 workers if Haiti TPS ends.
In synthesis, DHS’s termination of Haiti’s TPS designation threatens to generate a mass expulsion of
qualified, lawful, employment-authorized immigrant
workers from the workforce. Amici’s experience across
a variety of economic sectors demonstrates that this is
not a boon for U.S. workers or for the unions who represent their interests. First, unions shall lose dedicated worker-leaders whose engagement and solidarity has led to the improvement of working conditions
18
See Villero et al, supra n.3.
25
for all. And the secondary effects shall be stark. As a
direct result of DHS’s actions, nurses and other healthcare workers will feel pressure to work longer hours to
attend to more patients, exacerbating the turnover
and burnout that is endemic to the industry. Manufacturing and food production workers will face forced
overtime that degrades their quality of life and renders them more susceptible to injury as employers
struggle to keep production afloat. Hospitality employers will be incentivized to turn to staffing agencies
known to pay substandard wages and benefits to meet
their workforce needs. And construction crews will
have too few workers to meet critical deadlines, delaying large-scale projects and forcing companies to pay
more and rapidly hire inexperienced workers for hazardous projects that require high levels of skill.
The balance of the equities and the public interest
thus weigh strongly in favor of affirming the Miot district court’s stay of DHS’s termination of Haiti TPS.
And, to the extent that workforce considerations
played any role in DHS’s determination of where the
“national interest” lies, its failure to consider the realworld impact of terminating Haiti’s TPS designation
on U.S. workers renders it arbitrary and capricious.
26
CONCLUSION
The Court should affirm the orders staying agency
action in Miot and Dahlia Doe.
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Andrew Lyubarsky
MaTThew GInSburg
Andrew lyubarSky
Counsel of Record
Hannah cohen SmITh*
AFL-CIO
815 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
alyubarsky@aflcio.org
(202) 637-5115
*Admitted in ME only. Practice in D.C.
supervised by D.C. Bar members.
Attorneys for Amici Curiae
Dated: April 13, 2026
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.