Supreme Court Lets Trump Administration End TPS for 356,000 Haitians and Syrians

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Thursday that the Trump administration may terminate Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitian nationals and 6,000 Syrian nationals. The decision reverses lower-court orders that had delayed the terminations and removes further judicial oversight of the Department of Homeland Security's actions on these cases.

The ruling permits DHS to end TPS immediately for the two groups. TPS currently shields 1.3 million people from 17 countries. Since President Trump took office in January 2025, the administration has already terminated protections for nationals of 13 countries.

TPS was enacted by Congress in 1990 to shield foreign nationals already in the United States from deportation when their home countries face armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. Recipients receive work permits in increments of up to 18 months but gain no path to citizenship.

Haitian TPS began after the 2010 earthquake and has been renewed repeatedly amid persistent gang violence that has displaced more than one million people.

Syrian TPS started in 2012 during that country's civil war, which continued until the fall of President Bashar Assad's government in late 2024. Immigration attorneys cited court documents stating that four Haitian women deported in February 2026 were later found beheaded and dumped in a river.

The House of Representatives passed legislation in April 2026 with bipartisan support to extend Haitian TPS, but the measure has not advanced in the Senate.

The Supreme Court previously permitted the administration to end TPS for Venezuelans. Federal authorities maintain that the terminations follow statutory criteria and are not motivated by racial animus.