Legal Actions

The National TPS Alliance is an organization formed and led by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients who seek to preserve the TPS program and create a pathway to permanent residency. The National TPS Alliance, along with a group of individual TPS recipients from Venezuela have filed a lawsuit against Secretary Kristi Noem and the Department of Homeland Security challenging Secretary Noem's decision to revoke the 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan migrants granted by the Biden administration in January 2025. Plaintiffs are also challenging Secretary Noem's decision to partially vacate the TPS extension and redesignation for Haiti granted by the Biden administration in July 2024. The plaintiffs argue that Noem's decisions violate the Administrative Procedure Act as well as TPS holders' Fifth Amendment right to due process. The plaintiffs request that the court declare Noem's reversals of the TPS extensions unlawful and order the extensions to remain in effect.

The Building Materials Re-Use Association has sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to challenge its cancellation of the Reducing Embodied GHG Emissions for Construction Materials and Products Program. The plaintiff is a non-profit dedicated to supporting the U.S. building materials reuse industry, and had received a grant through the program. The plaintiff argues that the cancellation of this program violates the separation of powers, the Presentment clause of the Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Impoundment Control Act. The plaintiff requests that the court declare the cancellation unlawful and order the EPA to reinstate the program.

A coalition of Haitian TPS holders, the Haitian Evangelical American Clergy Association, and the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ sued the Trump administration for terminating Haiti’s TPS status despite ongoing violence and political turmoil in the country. Plaintiffs argue that the action is counter to statute and violates the Administrative Procedure Act and plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection.

State financial institutions have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Citibank for illegally withholding obligated funds. Plaintiffs, who are sub-grantees of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), have been unable to draw funds from EPA-controlled accounts at Citibank. Plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration, in refusing to release the funds, violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the separation of powers, the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and the Tenth Amendment. Plaintiffs also bring contract and tort claims against Citibank. On March 25, Judge Chutkan ordered that this case be consolidated with Climate United Fund v. Citibank (1:25-cv-00698); Coalition for Green Capital v. Citibank, N.A. (1:25-cv-00735); and Power Forward Communities, Inc. v. Citibank (1:25-cv-00762). Climate United Fund was named the lead case and all further filings were directed to be filed there. 

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and unions representing federal government workers have sued the Trump administration challenging President Trump's Executive Order 14251. This executive order removes collective bargaining rights for the majority of federal employees under the pretext that collective bargaining for these workers threatens national security. The plaintiffs argued that Executive Order 14251 violates the separation of powers clause of the Constitution, as well as the plaintiffs' First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

The Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation and two student journalists have sued Secretary Rubio and Secretary Noem over the Trump administration's actions targeting students and university organizations that criticize Israel or express support for Palestinian rights. The Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation is a non-profit corporation that operates _The Stanford Daily_, the Stanford University student newspaper. The two individual plaintiffs in this case are student journalists who are present in the U.S. legally and have published pro-Palestinian articles. These students fear deportation based on their pro-Palestinian views. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to deport university students who protest the genocide of Palestinians or express criticism of Israel, and has acted on these threats upon returning to office. The plaintiffs argued that the targeting and deportation of students based on their ideology or political expression violates their First Amendment right to freedom of expression as well as their Fifth Amendment right to due process. The plaintiffs requested that the court declare the deportation of students based on their political beliefs unlawful and issue an injunction preventing further targeting of students for engaging in protected speech.

Doctors from Harvard Medical School have sued the Trump administration for the removal of their articles from the Patient Safety Network (PSNet), a government-run website for doctors and medical researchers used to share information. The papers covered medical research among LBGTQIA+ and transgender people. In accordance with President Trump's gender ideology executive order, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance removing these articles from PSNet. Plaintiffs argue that the government violated the First Amendment and Administrative Procedure Act in doing so.

Columbia University student Yunseo Chung has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. Though she is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, the Trump administration tried to arrest and deport her for attending protests against the war in Gaza. She alleges that the administration, in doing so, has violated her First Amendment rights.