The Supreme Court has heard arguments on whether the Trump administration can strip Haiti and Syria nationals of their Temporary Protected Status protections. The Court left lower courts’ rulings in place, meaning the Trump administration cannot end the TPS designations for Haitian and Syrian nationals while the case moves forward at the Supreme Court. The outcome will affect approximately 350,000 Haitian nationals and several thousand Syrian nationals currently in the U.S., and will set binding precedent for other countries where the administration has sought to terminate TPS.
What changed
The TPS designations for Haiti and Syria lasted for 18 months but were repeatedly extended until 2025, when Kristi Noem – then the Secretary of Homeland Security – announced that the Trump administration planned to end both designations. For Syria, the Secretary indicated the new government was attempting to “move the country to a stable institutional governance” and that it would be “contrary to the national interest” for Syria’s TPS designation to remain in place. For Haiti, the Secretary determined that “there are no extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti that prevent Haitian nationals from returning in safety” and that it was “contrary to the national interest” to permit Haitians to remain temporarily in the United States.
Haitian nationals with TPS challenged the termination in federal court in Washington, D.C., while Syrians challenged it in New York. Federal judges in both cities blocked the Trump administration from ending the TPS program, and two federal appeals courts declined to step in. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to put the lower courts’ orders on hold and hear the cases, and in an order on March 16, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the disputes but left the lower courts’ rulings in place.
During oral arguments, the U.S. Solicitor General argued that under the statute creating the TPS program, courts cannot review any determination by the DHS secretary with regard to the designation or termination of a foreign nation for protected status, saying the provision bars review of both the ultimate decision to terminate and each step that leads to it.
Why it matters
The Supreme Court’s decision will determine whether you can represent TPS clients seeking to maintain their status in the face of termination, or whether the Secretary’s termination decision is unreviewable by any court. Since Trump returned to the White House, Kristi Noem tried to terminate TPS for 13 countries; the cases argued addressed her decision to terminate TPS for Haiti and Syria. If the Court rules for the administration, terminations for other countries—including El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Afghanistan, Somalia, Myanmar, and Ethiopia—would likely proceed without court review.
The TPS program, enacted by Congress in 1990, authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to designate a country’s citizens as eligible to remain in the U.S. and work if they cannot return safely because of a natural disaster, armed conflict, or other “extraordinary and temporary” conditions. The immediate practical impact: while the case is pending at the Supreme Court, the Trump administration cannot end the TPS designations. Your Haitian and Syrian TPS clients retain work authorization and status during the litigation.
However, the stakes are extraordinarily high. If the administration wins, it would be able to strip temporary protected status from about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. During oral argument, Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan signaled disagreement with the government’s position on the role of courts, and also signaled they do not believe Noem followed the consultative process that the 1990 law requires to terminate each of these TPS designations. Only Justice Amy Coney Barrett from the conservative wing revealed skepticism that courts cannot review a TPS termination under any circumstances.
Way forward
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Monitor the Supreme Court docket for the decision in Mullin v. Doe and Trump v. Miot (the paired Haiti and Syria cases). The ruling will bind all future TPS terminations and all lower-court litigation.
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For current TPS clients from Haiti and Syria: their status and work authorization remain valid during the Supreme Court’s deliberation. Do not advise them that termination is imminent; emphasize that the lower court orders are in effect.
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For clients from other countries where termination has been announced (El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Afghanistan, Somalia, Myanmar, Ethiopia): expect that lower courts may follow or distinguish the precedent once the Supreme Court rules. File defensive actions in federal court if a termination affects your client.
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Document the current conditions in Haiti and Syria for any litigation you file. The State Department currently tells Americans not to travel to either country; Haiti has been under a State of Emergency since March 2024, and the department says no part of Syria is safe from violence.
Disclaimer
Articles.folaform.com is a software company, not a law firm, and this article does not constitute legal advice. USCIS policy, including TPS designations, can change without notice. Always verify current policy against the primary source linked above and consult a licensed immigration attorney before advising clients or submitting any application.