Temporary Protected Status (TPS): The Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Ending TPS for Syria & Haiti

On Wednesday, the last day of regularly scheduled arguments for this Supreme Court term, the justices will hear two cases challenging the Trump Administration’s ability to terminate temporary protected status (TPS) for thousands of immigrants from Haiti and Syria.

What is Temporary Protected Status (TPS)?

As its name implies, TPS is a program that temporarily allows immigrants to live and work in the U.S. if they are from countries that the U.S. government has deemed unsafe. War, natural disasters, or other dangerous conditions are assessed by the Secretary of Homeland Security and can lead to a TPS designation for a period of six, 12, or 18 months, which can then be extended if conditions have not improved.

For example, Haiti has been under a continuous TPS designation since 2010 when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country, killing more than 300,000 people. The Obama Administration granted TPS status to Syria in 2012 as the country fell into civil war and it has been continually extended since.

Legal Challenges to TPS Terminations

When President Trump was sworn in for his second term, 17 countries were then designated for TPS. In the fifteen months since, his administration has let the designation expire for five of the countries and attempted to terminate it for seven others. All of the terminations have been challenged in court.

Last year, in a “shadow docket” decision, the Supreme Court overruled lower courts and allowed the termination of Venezuela’s TPS status to go into effect, resulting in the loss of protection for 600,000 Venezuelans. In the cases involving Haiti and Syria, however, the Court left in place the lower court orders pausing the terminations while the cases are being considered. The two cases have been consolidated and are scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, with a ruling expected in late June.

Those challenging the TPS terminations argue that these countries remain unsafe, that the Trump Administration’s hostility to non-white immigrants is the real reason behind the terminations, and that the terminations were not conducted in accordance with federal law governing administrative decisions. Lower court judges in both cases agreed that the terminations violated the law and froze the termination orders. Those suspensions for Syria and Haiti remain in effect.

What the Supreme Court Decision Could Mean

The outcome of these cases will not only affect approximately 6,000 Syrians and more than 300,000 Haitians currently protected by these countries’ TPS designations, but could impact more than a million immigrants currently legally living and working in the U.S. under the TPS program. 

Benach Pitney Reilly will continue to closely monitor this case and report on the results.

Which Countries have had TPS Designations during Trump’s second term?