Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end TPS for Haitians, Syrians

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Thursday that the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status for more than 356,000 Haitian and Syrian immigrants. The decision allows termination of protections that had permitted them to live and work in the United States, opening the door to possible deportation via slowing deportation efforts.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that the TPS statute bars judicial review of the immigrants' non-constitutional claims. The court reversed lower court orders postponing the terminations, finding that immigrants from Syria and Haiti are not entitled to such relief.

The ruling restricts lawsuits alleging violations of federal law in TPS decisions. The majority determined that claims of racial animus against Haitians were unlikely to succeed, citing the administration's consistent opposition to the TPS program.

Justice Elena Kagan dissented, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. She argued that the decision prevents required consultations about country conditions and allows race-based considerations to taint the Haiti termination. Kagan warned that hundreds of thousands of lives will be uprooted while litigation continues.

The decision affects more than 1 million immigrants from 17 countries with TPS. The administration has moved to rescind protections for immigrants from 13 of those nations. The Supreme Court previously allowed ending TPS for over 600,000 Venezuelans.

TPS for Syrians began in 2012 due to conflict under Bashar al-Assad. For Haitians, it started in 2010 after a major earthquake and was extended amid later crises.