Patrick Saget, Sabina Badio Florial, Naischa Vilme, Gerald Michaud, Beatrice Beliard, Rachelle Guirand, Jean Claude Mompoint, Yolnick Jeune, Guerline Francois, Leoma Pierre, Haiti Liberte, and Family Action Network Movement, Inc., Plaintiffsv.Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, United States of America, Department of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Elaine C. Duke, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Defendants
DECISION & ORDER Plaintiffs bring this action challenging then-Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine C. Duke’s November 20, 2017 determination to terminate Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status designation, based on her assessment that Haiti had sufficiently recovered from a 2010 earthquake and there were no longer “extraordinary and temporary conditions” preventing Haitian nationals residing in the United States from safely returning to Haiti. Defendants President Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and DHS Acting Deputy Secretary Claire M. Grady filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). Defendants also filed a motion to stay this action. For the reasons stated below, Defendants’ motion to dismiss and motion to stay are both DENIED.BACKGROUNDOn March 15, 2018, Patrick Saget, Family Action Network Movement, Inc., Yolnick Jeune, Sabina Badio Florial, Jean Claude Mompoint, Gerald Michaud, Leoma Pierre, Naischa Vilme, Guerline Francois, Beatrice Beliard, Haiti Liberte, and Rachelle Guirand (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) filed this action against President Donald Trump, the United States of America, DHS, Kirstjen Nielsen in her capacity as the Secretary of DHS, and Elaine C. Duke in her capacity as Deputy Secretary of DHS (who was later replaced by Claire M. Grady) (collectively, “Defendants”) seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Compl., ECF No. 1. On May 31, 2018, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint. Am. Compl., ECF No. 21.Plaintiffs challenge then-Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine C. Duke’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Haiti, effective July 22, 2019. Plaintiffs claim, inter alia, the decision to terminate TPS for Haiti violated the requirements of the TPS statute, 8 U.S.C. §1254a, implemented a new standard for terminating TPS that is arbitrary and unlawful under the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, and was ultra vires of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”).The Court assumes the reader’s familiarity with the history of TPS and Haiti’s TPS designation, and the allegations in Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint. As such, this opinion only engages in a brief recitation of the background of this litigation and references alleged facts as needed for analysis.As pleaded in the Amended Complaint, Haiti was initially designated for TPS in January 2010, following a devastating earthquake. Am. Compl.
