The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration can proceed with ending temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Syria and Haiti.
In a 6-3 ruling, the majority of justices found that federal law generally bars judicial review of TPS designation and termination decisions. The court also found that challengers to the law were unlikely to succeed on claims that Haiti's TPS designation was terminated because of racial discrimination.
"In these cases, we consider whether respondents, who challenge the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for aliens from Syria and Haiti, are entitled to orders postponing the terminations during litigation. We hold that they are not," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion, in which Chief Justice John Robers, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined.
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After the Trump administration ended TPS for nationals of Haiti and Syria last year, the Supreme Court agreed to take an “ordinary review” of the case after lower courts issued temporary injunctions.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 and is designated when conditions in a country do not allow for its nationals' safe return, and prevents their removal from the United States. Haiti was added to that list after an earthquake in 2010, allowing some of its citizens to live in the U.S. under the program.
However, the Trump administration said it was terminating Haiti’s TPS, citing concerns that “Haitian gangs — such as those designated by the State Department as foreign terrorist organizations — pose a serious threat to U.S. interests.”
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Advocates for Haitian and Syrian nationals say that the Trump administration’s termination of TPS was arbitrary and didn’t follow the requirements. They say the government was also discriminatory in removing TPS status from Haitian and Syrian migrants.
The Department of Homeland Security has argued that statutory obligations were met and that national security concerns justify ending TPS.
