The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), delivering a major victory to the president’s hardline immigration agenda.
In a 6-3 ruling divided along ideological lines, the conservative majority overturned lower court decisions that had blocked the administration from terminating the deportation protections. The ruling impacts more than 350,000 people from Haiti and roughly 6,100 from Syria, despite current State Department warnings advising against travel to both nations due to widespread violence, crime, and civil unrest.
Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito stated that federal law plainly bars courts from reviewing executive decisions regarding TPS designations, a conclusion that likely dooms future legal challenges over status revocations. Alito also rejected arguments from the Haitian plaintiffs that the administration’s actions were racially biased and violated the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees. The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the decision.
In a second immigration victory for the administration on Thursday, the Supreme Court also upheld the government’s authority to turn away asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border when crossings are deemed too overburdened. This ruling allows the administration to revive a policy known as “metering,” which had been dropped under the Biden administration. Together, the twin rulings reinforce the Supreme Court’s traditional deference to executive authority over matters of immigration, national security, and foreign policy.
