Mullin’s remarks that Haitian and Syrian immigrants ‘can choose to go back’ further outrage New York advocates after Supreme Court TPS ruling

Mullin told CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday morning during “State of the Union” that not having TPS wouldn’t necessarily mean that the hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian refugees living in the U.S. under TPS would automatically be deported.

“These individuals have a couple of choices here,” Mullin said. “They can try to apply for a permanent residence here, they can apply for a temporary visa if they choose to or they can choose to go back.”

Mullin told Tapper that the federal government would help return Haitians and Syrians back to their home countries by getting them a plane ticket and funding them with roughly $2,100 to begin again in their country of origin.

New York City leaders and immigration advocates slammed both Mullin’s missive and the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling revoking TPS, along with its broad implications for other migrants with TPS, which is only granted to migrants from countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, major disasters, and other extraordinary, unsafe conditions. 

The court’s decision ruled that the law creating TPS did not allow for courts to review the decision to end that status in most cases. The court did determine that TPS beneficiaries would likely lose an argument claiming that the decision to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians were racially biased and therefore unconstitutional, paving the way for a host of other challenged TPS cases to be upheld through the courts.

Deborah Lee, attorney-in-charge of the Immigration Law Unit at The Legal Aid Society, in a statement called the SCOTUS ruling a “betrayal” of the United States’ values as a nation comprised largely of immigrants, many fleeing persecution in their home countries. 

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian immigrants, and implicitly for nationals of all the other countries shielded by TPS, will have devastating consequences for individuals and families who have lived, worked, and contributed to our communities for years,” Lee said.

Lee said that Mullin’s suggestion of “going back” to countries like Haiti and Syria ignored the reality on the ground in those countries. 

“The urgent task at hand is to screen TPS registrants for all viable forms of immigration relief,” Lee said. “Simply telling people to take a stipend and return to countries where their lives may be at risk shows this federal administration’s cavalier disregard for the lives of immigrants.”

Both Haiti and Syria are still flagged by the U.S. State Department with the most serious travel advisory, warning U.S. citizens not to travel to either country for any reason, citing “terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, hostage taking and armed conflict.” Travel warnings for Haiti also include violent gang activity.

Mullin argued that not being safe for U.S. citizens did not mean those countries were not safe for refugees returning from the U.S.

But local organizations, lawmakers and international humanitarian organizations argued that Mullin was making a distinction without a difference. In a 2026 a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime found that Haiti’s de facto gang rule, poverty and successive natural disasters have had devastating consequences on the local populations. It found widespread food insecurity and skyrocketing violence, resulting in the killings of 16,000 people since 2022.

“Sending TPS recipients back into unsafe conditions in Haiti is not simply callous; it is intentionally cruel,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Harold Solis, co-Legal Director of Make the Road New York, told amNewYork that for someone losing their TPS status, applying for permanent residency was highly individualized to each person’s personal circumstances.

“This could not have come at a worse time when the administration has been moving with certainly lots of speed to operationalize its mass detention and mass deportation program,” Solis said. “So you’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people who are now suddenly right at the crosshairs of that ongoing operation. That’s the reality that many people woke up to last week.”

With Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) heavy presence throughout New York City and New Jersey during the second Trump administration, it is unclear whether those who qualify and complete the necessary legal steps to obtain lawful residency will be able to avoid detention by immigration authorities.

“Right now, in this environment where going to immigration court is itself a risky proposition, I’m sure people who will have to make those decisions will now have to also wonder whether they will be able to go to court; whether they will be able to go to a biometrics appointment with USCIS without getting detained and arrested; or any other sort of touchpoint with the immigration agencies, because there have been arrests,” Solis said.

The decision wont just impact individuals whose TPS was revoked, many migrants living in the United States and the city have built lives, careers and started families. Assembly Member Michaelle Solages (D-Queens) said in a statement that ending TPS had the potential to rip NYC families apart.

“Families who have renewed their legal status for years, purchased homes, and planned their futures are being told all those decisions do not matter to the U.S. Government,” Solages said. “The greatest victims of this decision may be American children. Thousands of children, children born in the U.S. and holding U.S. citizenship, will now live with the fear that their parents could be deported not because they committed a crime, not because they didn’t follow the rules, but simply because of hatred, apathy, and a pathological lack of compassion.”

In response to threats to TPS, Schumer and 34 other U.S. Senators signed on to cosponsor Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen’s Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency (SECURE) Act which creates a pathway to permanent lawful residency for people with TPS.

Schumer also called on the Republican-controlled Congress to pass legislation to restore TPS for Haitians and Syrians impacted by Thursday’s ruling.

“Haitians across this country play critical roles in our communities and have made invaluable contributions to the fabric of our nation and the vibrancy of our economy,” Schumer said. “We have an obligation to stand beside our neighbors in their time of need, and Congress must act now in a bipartisan way to protect them. We need the Republicans to join us in supporting this legislation to restore TPS to Haitians ASAP.”