Supreme Court to Review Trump Administration's Bid to End TPS for Haitians and Syrians

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on April 29, 2026, regarding the Trump administration's authority to end temporary protected status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. The case originates from lawsuits filed by Haitians and Syrians granted TPS, which allows legal stay in the U.S. until conditions in their home countries improve.

A February 2026 ruling by U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes upheld the protections for Haitians who arrived as early as 2010 following an earthquake in Haiti. Administration officials appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin stated after the ruling that TPS was not intended as a de facto amnesty program and that prior administrations had used it that way for decades.

Context of Haitian Immigration TPS was established under a 1990 law during the administration of President George H.W. Bush, authorizing temporary stays for immigrants from countries facing unsafe conditions. Haitians received TPS in 2010, two decades after the program's inception. According to the Haitian Lawyers Association, which filed a brief supporting TPS holders, between 1972 and 1980, approximately 50,000 Haitians applied for asylum, but only 100 were approved.

In contrast, during the 1980 Mariel boatlift, about 125,000 Cubans arrived in the U.S., and the majority received asylum. The association noted that in the late 1960s under President Richard Nixon, many Haitian skilled workers obtained green cards. Migration increased during the rule of Francois Duvalier in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1980, under President Jimmy Carter, the government implemented a program to detain and repatriate Haitians arriving by boat, which a federal judge struck down two years later. President Ronald Reagan signed a 1986 bill granting amnesty to immigrants arriving before 1982, but enforcement included intercepting Haitian boats at sea and detaining arrivals.

The Haitian Lawyers Association reported that in 1997, a bill providing legal residency to Nicaraguans was expanded to include Cubans but not Haitians, leading to a more restrictive separate measure for Haitians. Georges Fouron, a Haitian American author, stated that Haitians began migrating during the U.S. occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934.

Attorney Ruth Jean, involved in the Supreme Court brief, noted that perceptions of Haitians as not meriting favor have persisted.

The government argues that courts have overstepped by limiting presidential authority to end TPS, as granted by Congress. The program currently covers individuals from 17 countries, potentially affecting 1.4 million people if terminated. Oral arguments are expected to last more than an hour.