Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Revoking TPS for Haitian and Syrian Immigrants

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday regarding the Trump administration's efforts to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Haiti and Syria. The cases involve approximately 350,000 Haitian nationals and 6,000 Syrians who have been protected from deportation and granted work authorization in the U.S. due to unsafe conditions in their home countries.

The administration argues that conditions have improved sufficiently for safe return, while lower courts blocked the terminations citing procedural violations. The TPS program, established in 1990 under the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows eligible individuals from designated countries to live and work in the U.S. if their home nations face armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.

Designations are made and extended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with no pathway to citizenship provided.

have held TPS since 2010, following a devastating earthquake, with extensions amid ongoing natural disasters, political unrest, and gang violence. Syrians have been protected since 2012 due to civil war, terrorism, and a 2023 earthquake that worsened humanitarian conditions.

The Biden administration last renewed these protections before the current administration's attempts to end them. Last year, then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued decisions to terminate TPS for both countries. Noem stated that Syria was moving toward stable institutional governance after the late-2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad and that no extraordinary conditions prevented safe return to Haiti despite continued gang violence.

“There are no extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti that could prevent Haitians from returning in safety.”

and Syrian TPS holders sued in federal courts in Washington, D.C., and New York, claiming the terminations ignored required procedures, such as State Department consultations, and may have been motivated by racial animus. The cases were consolidated for Supreme Court review.

Lower courts ruled that Noem did not follow proper processes and potentially discriminated based on race. The Trump administration contends that TPS decisions are at the DHS secretary's discretion and not subject to judicial review, as per the Immigration and Nationality Act.

U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer argued in briefs that Congress intended TPS to be temporary, with accountability through political processes rather than courts.

“Congress, in short, prescribed substantive and procedural guardrails to keep TPS designations temporary, but left further accountability to the political process, not federal courts." — John Sauer, U.S. Solicitor General, in a brief (ABC). Ahilan Arulanantham, a UCLA law professor and co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy, stated that the statute requires consultation with the State Department for terminations.”

The Supreme Court previously allowed the administration to terminate TPS for over 300,000 Venezuelans last year via its emergency docket, though litigation continues. The administration has attempted to end TPS for immigrants from 13 countries, including Afghanistan, Honduras, Yemen, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, with some successes and ongoing challenges.

Nearly 1.3 million people held TPS at the start of the second Trump administration. Immigrant advocates highlight TPS holders' contributions to the U.S. economy, particularly in healthcare and senior care, where they comprise 28% of the long-term care workforce according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

More than 113,000 Haitian TPS holders work in Florida, supporting industries reliant on immigrant labor. Business groups in senior living and aging services warned that terminations could disrupt care for elderly and vulnerable populations. Earlier this month, the House passed legislation to extend TPS for Haitian immigrants for three years.

A Supreme Court decision is expected by the end of June. If the court rules in favor of the administration, it could lead to efforts to end TPS for all designated countries. The cases represent another test of executive authority in immigration policy during President Trump's second term, alongside pending rulings on birthright citizenship and other matters.