The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for nearly 400,000 Haitian and Syrian nationals living legally in the United States, ruling that the administration’s decisions were largely beyond judicial review.
In a 6-3 decision covering Mullin v. Dahlia Doe and Trump v. Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot, Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s termination of TPS designations for Haiti and Syria could not be reviewed by courts under the statute. The Court also found that challengers had not shown that racial bias motivated the Haiti decision, although it assumed for purposes of analysis that heightened scrutiny applied.
TPS, created by Congress in 1990, permits eligible foreign nationals to live and work temporarily in the United States when their home countries are affected by armed conflict, natural disaster or other extraordinary conditions. The law directs the homeland security secretary to consult other agencies before changing a country’s designation. Plaintiffs argued Noem did not follow that process and that the decisions reflected President Donald Trump’s past statements about immigrants. The majority said the cited statements were insufficient to establish discriminatory intent.
Justice Clarence Thomas concurred. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. Kagan argued that courts should be able to review whether required procedures were followed and said the evidence of racial motivation should not have been dismissed.
The ruling affects about 363,000 Haitian TPS holders and 7,000 Syrian TPS holders. Advocates say many have lived in the United States for years, including workers, students and family caregivers. Loss of TPS typically starts a limited period to depart unless individuals qualify for other relief. Further litigation or congressional action could affect implementation, while State Department advisories continue to warn against travel to Haiti and Syria.