‘All of a sudden without any support’: Supreme Court revokes Temporary Protected Status of immigrants from Haiti, Syria – The Daily Texan

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 25 that the federal government can remove a protection designation, which shields refugees from deportation, of immigrants from Haiti and Syria. 

The Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration can cancel the Temporary Protected Status, which protects refugees from nations with conditions like war or environmental disaster from deportation, of immigrants from the two countries. 

Haiti was designated for TPS in 2010 after an earthquake, while Syria was first designated in 2012 due to civil war and violence. Both statuses have been upheld due to ongoing conflict and related issues. Texas is the state with the second highest population of TPS holders at 147,080 people protected by TPS, according to The Forum. 

Elissa Steglich, co-director of the UT School of Law immigration clinic, said that TPS was intended not only to protect citizens of countries under civic unrest or natural disasters, but also provide work authorization for immigrants. This work authorization allows refugees a way to send funds back to their families in their home countries. 

Steglich said the Trump Administration criticized the TPS designations for lasting too long, as there is no fixed time limit on war or civic unrest. TPS designations can last up to 18 months, but are often renewed if conditions of a holder’s home-country have not improved.

James Percival, the Department of Homeland Security general counsel, said the case reaffirmed “Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was always supposed to be temporary and can be cancelled at the appropriate time,” in a statement.  

James Houston, a political science sophomore at Southwestern University, is a U.S. and Haitian citizen. His family immigrated to the U.S. before TPS was established, but he said he has several family friends under the status. Among his family friends are current Haitian government workers, who Houston said fled after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, and are now trying to plan for the country’s 2026 general election, as he says the country’s government continues to face political unrest and uncertainty.

“We have family members saying they can’t plan (for) the election if they don’t know what’s going to happen to their living situation,” Houston said. “Are (they) actually going to be able to fully plan out the election, or is this going to be interrupted by partisan politics in the United States?” 

Steglich said while there are likely UT students who hold TPS, there are certainly more students with family members who do.

“While on TPS, (holders) have been able to work, to invest,” Steglich said. “Many are homeowners. Many … certainly have become community members, and part of the fabric of the United States society. So to then undo that, many feel like they are all of a sudden without any support.”