Overview:
Geoff Pipoly, lead counsel in Miot v. Trump, spoke with The Haitian Times about the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling allowing the termination of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status to move forward. Pipoly discusses the surviving equal protection claim, the ongoing discovery process, an exchange with Justice Alito over race during oral arguments, and the practical and emotional toll the ruling has had on the Haitian community. He also addresses ICE enforcement tactics, ankle monitors, pending legislation S.4814, and urges affected TPS holders to consult immigration attorneys.
The Haitian Times sat down with Geoff Pipoly, lead counsel in Miot v. Trump, for an extended conversation about the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling, which allowed the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians to proceed while litigation continues. The equal protection claim — that the termination was motivated by racial animus — remains alive, and Pipoly’s team is now pursuing discovery to build the factual record the Court said was missing the first time around.
Pipoly said the administration is caught between pressure from its political base for rapid mass deportations and the logistical difficulty of carrying them out, pointing to reports that ICE has been told to delay arrests of former TPS holders even as ankle monitors have become a more common alternative to detention. He described Springfield, Ohio, as a likely target for enforcement given its large, visible Haitian population, and said the resulting fear has disrupted work, school attendance and daily life for many families.
Pipoly’s advice for the roughly 350,000 Haitians who lost status: talk to an immigration attorney now, and don’t wait for the courts.
Watch the full conversation below with The Haitian Times’ special projects editor, Macollvie Neel
