US Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to End TPS for Haitians and Syrians

Washington DC. The US Supreme Court has allowed the Donald Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Haiti and Syria. In a 6-3 majority decision, the court overturned lower court rulings that had prevented the Trump administration from ending the TPS for approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians.

TPS is a legal facility that allows citizens of countries that cannot safely repatriate their citizens due to war, natural disasters, or other serious crises to temporarily live and work in the US. Under this, they also receive protection from deportation for a certain period.

The US had granted TPS to Haitian citizens after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and to Syrian citizens after the civil war began in Syria in 2012. Court Justice Samuel Alito stated that the court does not have the right to review the government's TPS-related decisions, and that the Trump administration's decision is in accordance with the law. He also said that it would be difficult for Haitian immigrants to prove that the government's decision was motivated by racial discrimination.

However, three liberal judges of the court disagreed with the decision. Judge Elena Kagan commented that the Trump administration's decision was influenced by racial prejudice, indicating that it was clearly targeted at Haitian citizens. Following the decision, the US Department of Homeland Security welcomed it, stating that the 'T' in TPS stands for 'Temporary' and that this system should not become a permanent amnesty. This decision has created a situation where thousands of immigrants from Haiti and Syria who received TPS will lose their legal protection in the US and face the risk of deportation in the future.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has also ruled in favor of the Trump administration in another immigration-related case. The court ruled that immigrants who have reached the US-Mexico border but have not entered US territory cannot seek asylum. According to the court, under US law, an individual must be physically present in US territory to apply for asylum.

Therefore, individuals remaining in Mexico without crossing the border cannot claim asylum. This decision opens the way for the Trump administration to re-implement the policy implemented in 2016 to limit the entry of refugees at the border. That policy was abolished by the Joe Biden administration in 2021.