US Supreme Court strips protected status from Haitian and Syrian Migrants, upholds Trump administration policies

In a pair of landmark rulings, the US Supreme Court has delivered two major victories to the Trump administration, allowing it to strip temporary protected status from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants and denying asylum to migrants arriving at the border until they physically set foot on US soil.

In a pair of landmark rulings, the US Supreme Court has delivered two major victories to the Trump administration, allowing it to strip temporary protected status from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants and denying asylum to migrants arriving at the border until they physically set foot on US soil.

The 6-3 ruling overturned decisions by federal judges that had blocked the administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria. TPS, granted to individuals whose home countries are unable to accommodate them due to war or natural disasters, allows recipients to legally live and work in the US for up to 18 months, subject to extensions, during which they cannot be removed or detained based on their immigration status.

The US first provided TPS to Haitians after the devastating 2010 earthquake and to Syrians after their country descended into civil war in 2012. Thursday’s decision is likely to have implications for TPS holders from other countries as well.

In his ruling, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the law governing TPS clearly prevents courts from reviewing government decisions. He also stated that the Haitian migrants who sued were unlikely to prove that the administration’s actions were racially discriminatory or violated the US Constitution’s equal-protection rights under the Fifth Amendment.

Dissent and Concerns

The three liberal justices dissented. Justice Elena Kagan argued that the government’s decision to remove protections was racially motivated. “The statements fairly shout, in their racial undertones and overtones alike, that race entered into the President’s resolve to remove Haitians from this country,” she said.

During his 2024 presidential campaign, President Trump amplified false rumours about Haitian immigrants, including baseless claims that they were abducting and eating household pets.

Asylum Policy

In a separate ruling, the court upheld that migrants arriving at the border are not entitled to apply for asylum until they physically set foot on US soil. The requirement, first introduced in 2016 during the Obama administration, was rescinded in 2021 under President Joe Biden. The court’s decision has allowed Trump to revive the “metering” policy, which limits the number of asylum seekers allowed to request protection each day.

Justice Sonia Maria Sotomayor, who voted against the ruling, called the consequences “predictable” in her dissent. “More people will die,” she said. “More people will attempt to cross the border illegally, and some will make it while others will not.”

Jill Habig, CEO and Founder of Public Rights Project, warned: “Today’s decision puts hundreds of thousands of people at risk,” noting that the ruling could now lead to the mass deportation of TPS recipients.