De Belgische democratie is aan vernieuwing toe. Wees erbij en bespreek samen hoe het beter kan!
04.02.2026 13:35
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De Belgische democratie is aan vernieuwing toe. Wees erbij en bespreek samen hoe het beter kan!
!["On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: “America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions.”1
More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President Washington’s vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. See 8 U.S.C. § 1254a (TPS statute). It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. See Part VI.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take. [screenshot of tweet].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nwnlnixtjh3qhkwpz2uy5uwv/bafkreicrroq5taft777rmau2ffjlsphbcatlxnwwigf2yekoke533yycim)
"On December 2, 1783, then-Commander-in-Chief George Washington penned: “America is open to receive not only the Opulent & respected Stranger, but the oppressed & persecuted of all Nations & Religions.”1 More than two centuries later, Congress reaffirmed President Washington’s vision by establishing the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. See 8 U.S.C. § 1254a (TPS statute). It provides humanitarian relief to foreign nationals in the United States who come from disaster-stricken countries. It also brings in substantial revenue, with TPS holders generating $5.2 billion in taxes annually. See Part VI. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem has a different take. [screenshot of tweet].
So says the official responsible for overseeing the TPS program. And one of those (her word) “damn” countries is Haiti. Relevant here, three days before making the above post, Secretary Noem announced she would terminate Haiti’s TPS designation as of February 3, 2026. See 90 Fed. Reg. 54733 (Nov. 28, 2025) (Termination). Plaintiffs are five Haitian TPS holders. They are not, it emerges, “killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies.” They are instead: Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot, a neuroscientist researching Alzheimer’s disease, Dkt. 90 (Second Am. Compl. (SAC)) ¶ 1; Rudolph Civil, a software engineer at a national bank, id. ¶ 2; Marlene Gail Noble, a laboratory assistant in a toxicology department, id. ¶ 3; Marica Merline Laguerre, a college economics major, id. ¶ 4; and Vilbrun Dorsainvil, a full-time registered nurse, id. ¶ 5. They claim that Secretary Noem’s decision violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 706(2), and the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Government counters that the Court does not have jurisdiction, and, in any case, the Secretary did not violate the law. Plaintiffs seek to stay the Secretary’s decision under 5 U.S.C. § 705 pending the outcome of this litigation. See Dkt. 81 (§ 705 Mot.). To decide their motion, the Court considers first whether it has jurisdiction. It does. See Part II. It then considers: whether Plaintiffs have a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; whether they will be irreparably harmed absent a stay; and whether a merged balance of the equities and public interest analysis favors a stay. See Part III. Each element favors Plaintiffs. See Parts IV, V, and VI. Plaintiffs charge that Secretary Noem preordained her termination decision and did so because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants. This seems substantially likely. Secretary Noem
![has terminated every TPS country designation to have reached her desk—twelve countries up,
twelve countries down. See Section IV.A.2. Her conclusion that Haiti (a majority nonwhite
country) faces merely “concerning” conditions cannot be squared with the “perfect storm of
suffering” and “staggering” “humanitarian toll” described in page-after-page of the Certified
Administrative Record (CAR). See Section IV.A.3.a. She ignored Congress’s requirement that
she “review the conditions” in Haiti only “after” consulting “with appropriate agencies.” 8
U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(3)(A); see Section IV.A.1. Indeed, she did not consult other agencies at all.
See id. Her “national interest” analysis focuses on Haitians outside the United States or here
illegally, ignoring that Haitian TPS holders already live here, and legally so. See Section
IV.A.3.b. And though she states that the analysis must include “economic considerations,” she
ignores altogether the billions Haitian TPS holders contribute to the economy. See id.
The Government’s primary response is that the TPS statute gives the Secretary
unbounded discretion to make whatever determination she wants, any way she wants. And, yes,
the statute does grant her some discretion. But not unbounded discretion. To the contrary,
Congress passed the TPS statute to standardize the then ad hoc temporary protection system—to
replace executive whim with statutory predictability. See Section I.A.
As to irreparable harm, the Government contends that, at most, the harms to Haitian TPS
holders are speculative. But the Department of State (State) warns [screenshot]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nwnlnixtjh3qhkwpz2uy5uwv/bafkreid3cmawech25ummuj2tjvgxsrvufma2kmrijlfpglalwddd3qkikq)
has terminated every TPS country designation to have reached her desk—twelve countries up, twelve countries down. See Section IV.A.2. Her conclusion that Haiti (a majority nonwhite country) faces merely “concerning” conditions cannot be squared with the “perfect storm of suffering” and “staggering” “humanitarian toll” described in page-after-page of the Certified Administrative Record (CAR). See Section IV.A.3.a. She ignored Congress’s requirement that she “review the conditions” in Haiti only “after” consulting “with appropriate agencies.” 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(b)(3)(A); see Section IV.A.1. Indeed, she did not consult other agencies at all. See id. Her “national interest” analysis focuses on Haitians outside the United States or here illegally, ignoring that Haitian TPS holders already live here, and legally so. See Section IV.A.3.b. And though she states that the analysis must include “economic considerations,” she ignores altogether the billions Haitian TPS holders contribute to the economy. See id. The Government’s primary response is that the TPS statute gives the Secretary unbounded discretion to make whatever determination she wants, any way she wants. And, yes, the statute does grant her some discretion. But not unbounded discretion. To the contrary, Congress passed the TPS statute to standardize the then ad hoc temporary protection system—to replace executive whim with statutory predictability. See Section I.A. As to irreparable harm, the Government contends that, at most, the harms to Haitian TPS holders are speculative. But the Department of State (State) warns [screenshot]
Dkt. 100 (§ 705 Reply) at 20–21.4 “Do not travel to Haiti for any reason” does not exactly scream, as Secretary Noem concluded, suitable for return. And so, the Government studiously does not argue that Plaintiffs will suffer no harm if removed to Haiti. Instead, it argues Plaintiffs will not certainly suffer irreparable harm because DHS might not remove them. But this fails to take Secretary Noem at her word: “WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.” See Section IV.B.2.b. Finally, the balance of equities and public interest favor a stay. The Government does not cite any reason termination must occur post haste. Secretary Noem complains of strains unlawful immigrants place on our immigration-enforcement system. Her answer? Turn 352,959 lawful immigrants into unlawful immigrants overnight. She complains of strains to our economy. Her answer? Turn employed lawful immigrants who contribute billions in taxes into the legally unemployable. She complains of strains to our healthcare system. Her answer? Turn the insured into the uninsured. This approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them. For the reasons below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs’ Renewed Motion for a Stay Under 5 U.S.C. § 705, Dkt. 81.
Even if you don't have time to read all 83 pages of Judge Reyes's opinion barring the Trump administration from rescinding Temporary Protected Status for 350,000+ Haitians, please at least check out the four-page introduction.
It's a tour de force:
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Important perspective from Greenland.
Ah yes, Isaac Newton, who also enjoyed giving nazi salutes in his spare time.
Imagine being foolish enough to trust Vladimir Putin when he says he has no plans to attack, invade, or occupy Europe.
Wie so skandalös? Ist es wirklich so schwer, einen Völkermord zu verurteilen, der von deinem Regime begangen wird?
Het parlement heeft eindelijk een verenigde positie op Gaza en eist sancties tegen Israël. Onze resolutie veroordeeld het brute geweld tegen de burgerbevolking en het saboteren van een tweestatenoplossing door Israël moet onmiddellijk stoppen. Maar we moeten veel meer doen. 1/3
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola rejected a bid by right-wing factions to hold a minute of silence today for slain US conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
a new edition of the banking union case law tracker is out:
www.linkedin.com/posts/profre...
On one hand, reducing car use reduces urban pollution.
But on the other, everyone likes it and cities become more livable
De fitis: geen fitness-app (enfin, misschien ook wel... 🤔), maar een groengeel, melancholisch zingend verenpakketje van ca. 10g 💚💛
My take on the "what's the point of pointing out facts" argument is
a) *someone* might be influenced
b) the truth has an intrinsic value (and I can't understand why some people think otherwise)
c) yes it's not the only argument
d) it's nihilistic to shrug and make no effort to assert it
Reporter: What’s going on with those posts on X that are clearly trolling the president?
Newsom: I hope it’s a wake up call for the president. I’m just following his example. If you have issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns with what he’s putting out
Great response to this. You don't get to ask Newsom about his posts and pretend Trump isn't doing the same thing multiple times a day.
"Haalbaar en betaalbaar!"
Ow nee wacht: dat is een argument dat ze enkel gebruiken tégen beleid dat poogt de klimaatverandering die ons allen bedreigt te temperen.
Niet om belastingsgeld over de balk te smijten ten behoeve van enkelingen.
www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20...
the technology that will save us all /s
EU’s ex-top diplomat says von der Leyen ‘complicit’ in Israeli war crimes in Gaza
🚨 On the agenda of today's EU Commission meeting: proposal to partly suspend Israel from the EU Horizon research programme
(Would need qualified majority vote of Member States)
Really inconsiderate of Gazan children to choose the school holiday period to starve to death and therefore force Freeman to confront her own complicity in genocide.
[But don't worry, she succeeds in blaming it all on Hamas and "very bad people."]
archive.ph/6auwd
11.11.11 vraagt Tomorrowland Israëlische dj te schrappen: "Hij ondersteunt genocide" vrtnws.be/p.mRvXKYnKN?t=175... @vrtnws.be
Screenshot from Commission register of documents listing a Commission decision to ask the CJEU about the draft accession treaty on the basis of Article 218 TFEU, which gives the court jurisdiction to rule on whether a draft treaty is compatible with EU law
EU Commission to ask CJEU to rule on whether the latest attempt to draft a treaty for EU accession to the ECHR is compatible with EU law
Much has been said and written about yesterday’s advisory opinion of the #ICJ on the obligations of states in relation to the fight against #ClimateChange. What I find truly remarkable is the last paragraph on judicial self-restraint and on climate as a global challenge
At first sight, I don't think this would be covered by the notion of an 'envisaged agreement', so an Opinion pursuant to Article 218(11) seems difficult...
The assumption that the Council can only suspend the association agreement with Israel through a unanimous vote, is erroneous in my opinion. In this post for @verfassungsblog.de I try to spell out why that is the case.
The CLEER Summer School on EU External Relations at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is well under way. Currently @ramseswessel.bsky.social on the #CFSP
Semi-structured interviewing is an ever-more common method in (sociolegal) research.
Yet, few lawyers are trained in social scientific methods.
Hopefully, this piece answers some initial methodological questions and/or makes more people curious about interviews as method in legal research!
🤓☺️
On account of being very tired of all this and trying to write a presentation on exporting to the US for Tue (which will for sure be out of date by Tue) I'm just going to repost stuff on last night's reversal, sorry, "clarification".
