The US Supreme Court on June 25 ruled 6-3 to let the Trump administration end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for about 350,000 Haitian and over 6,000 Syrian immigrants living in the US [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. TPS shields immigrants from deportation and grants work authorization during conflicts or disasters in their home countries [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. TPS was originally granted to Haitians after the 2010 earthquake and to Syrians following the 2012 civil war [1, 2, 3].
The court held the administration’s decision to terminate TPS is exempt from judicial review under the statute, affirming executive authority over the program. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, saying policy statements cited by opponents did not show overt racial bias [1, 4, 6]. He said, "None of the cited statements by either the president or the [Homeland Security] Secretary was overtly racial, and in substance all expressed policy views that could rest on race-neutral justifications" [4].
The three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan said the removal of protections showed racial motivation, stating, "The statements fairly shout, in their racial undertones and overtones alike, that race entered into the President's resolve to remove Haitians from this country" [1]. Civil rights groups, including the NAACP, condemned the ruling for endangering immigrant families. NAACP President Derrick Johnson called it "a deadly betrayal" that put more than 350,000 people at risk [6].
In a separate ruling the court restored a 2016 "turn-back policy" that bars asylum seekers from applying for protection while still on Mexican soil at the US border. Justice Alito noted, "In everyday language, no one would think someone has 'arrived' before they have entered a place" [9]. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, warning, "More people will die. More will try to cross illegally; some will succeed, others will fail" [9].
Lower courts had blocked the administration’s attempts to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians because of procedural errors, but the Supreme Court reversed those decisions [1, 2, 6, 7]. Currently, about 1.3 million immigrants from 17 countries have TPS protections in the US [2, 3, 5, 6].
The government said conditions in Haiti and Syria have improved sufficiently to justify ending TPS [6, 7, 8]. The rulings mark a significant shift in US immigration policy affecting hundreds of thousands of people who have lived and worked legally under TPS for years.
The Supreme Court’s decision came after oral arguments in April 2024 and takes effect immediately [3, 4].
