WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Supreme Court has begun hearing a case over whether President Donald Trump’s administration may strip the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians living in the country.
Wednesday’s hearing in the country’s highest court is particularly concerned about whether President Trump may end “Temporary Protected Status” (TPS) for citizens of both countries. TPS is granted when it is deemed unsafe for an individual to return to their home country.
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But the court’s final ruling could have far-reaching implications beyond the 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians living in the United States under TPS. This could jeopardize the future of the approximately 1.3 million people from 17 countries currently residing in the United States in this capacity, potentially making them illegally present in the Trump administration’s mass deportation program.
Last year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked TPS for Haiti and Syria, saying TPS had been “abused and exploited” and that conditions in both countries had improved since the status was first approved.
Noem argued that recent TPS extensions for Haiti, which was first granted that status in 2010, and Syria, which was granted that status in 2012, were “unjustified and not necessary.”
Critics point to the ongoing political, humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti and the unstable situation in Syria, which faces an Israeli invasion and an outpouring of violence even after emerging from more than a decade of war.
A class action lawsuit filed by Haitians and Syrians accuses authorities of failing to follow proper procedures in stripping them of their status. The administration argues that the law that created TPS does not allow courts to review decisions.
The Haiti lawsuit goes further, accusing the Trump administration of being motivated in part by racism. During his 2024 campaign, Trump specifically singled out Haitians living in the United States and deployed several racist metaphors, including that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating pets.”
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes ruled in February that the administration’s actions were likely motivated in part by “racial animus” that violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal rights protections.
Reyes said Noem likely made the decision to end TPS “because of her hostility toward non-white immigrants.” A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denounced the ruling as a “lawless act of activism.”
In an unusual rebuke to Trump, the U.S. House of Representatives in April passed a bill extending TPS for Haitians until 2029, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the bill. The Senate has not yet voted on the bill.
Since President Trump began his second term in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security has also moved to end TPS for Venezuela, Nepal, Nicaragua, Honduras, Afghanistan, Cameroon, South Sudan, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen, but most of those efforts have been halted by lower courts.
In October, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned order allowing the Trump administration to rescind TPS for Venezuela while legal challenges proceed in lower courts. This status is scheduled to end on October 2nd.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Cecilia Gonzalez, a TPS recipient and co-founder of the Venezuelan American Caucus, said the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision will be enormous as it will determine “whether immigrant families who have followed the law and built a life in this country can have their protections stripped overnight for political purposes.”
“As a Venezuelan, I learned early on that when things get tough, you have two options: run or fight,” she said in a statement.
“I have already fled once, so now I choose to fight not only for Venezuelans, but for all migrant communities who deserve dignity, stability and a durable solution.”
