Supreme Court gives Trump power to end protected status for Haitian, Syrian immigrants
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration can strip protected status from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants which has allowed them to stay in the US for years.
The 6-3 ruling overturned decisions by federal judges that had blocked the administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria.
TPS is granted to individuals whose home countries are unable to accommodate them, due to war or natural disasters.
In a separate ruling, the court has said that migrants arriving at the border are not entitled to apply for asylum until they set foot on US soil, giving another win to the Trump administration.
TPS recipients can legally live and work in the US for up to 18 months, subject to extensions. During this period, they can not be removed or detained by authorities on the basis of their immigration status.
The US first provided TPS to Haitians after a major earthquake in 2010 and to Syrians after their country descended into civil war in 2012.
Thursday’s decision is likely to have implications for TPS holders from other countries too.
In his ruling, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the law governing TPS clearly prevents courts from reviewing government decisions.
Justice Alito also said the Haitian migrants who sued were unlikely to prove that the administration’s actions were racially discriminatory and violated US constitution’s equal-protection rights under the Fifth Amendment.
The three liberal justices in the top court dissented.
Justice Elena Kagan said that the government’s decision to remove these protections were racially motivated.
“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,” she said.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump amplified false rumours about Haitian immigrants, including that they were abducting and eating house pets.
With this ruling, the court has now cleared the way for the Trump administration to remove legal protections for TPS recipients, meaning they could face deportation.
