The U.S. Supreme Court
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The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s plans to deport approximately 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians who had been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by Presidents Obama, Biden, and Trump during his first term. Simultaneously, the court has expedited the case to be heard in April, with a decision anticipated by the end of June. Under federal law, presidents can grant TPS to individuals from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. President Trump aims to end this status for nationals from 13 countries, including Myanmar, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Venezuela.
The Trump administration submitted two emergency appeals to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn lower court rulings that extended TPS for Syrians and Haitians during ongoing litigation. Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that it was time for the Supreme Court to intervene, citing “persistent disregard” by lower courts for previous Supreme Court decisions on TPS matters.
The court, in an unsigned order, concurred with Sauer’s argument and scheduled expedited hearings for April to address several key issues. These include determining whether TPS designations are subject to judicial review and if TPS holders have valid claims.
The court will also assess whether the TPS holders’ equal protection claims have merit. No dissents were noted.
The TPS program allows individuals from certain countries to live and work temporarily in the U.S. while their home countries recover from unresolved crises, such as ongoing conflicts or natural disasters.
Since 2012, Syrians have qualified for TPS due to the violent crackdown by Bashar al-Assad’s regime during the Obama administration. Trump extended their status in 2018.
Haitians have been eligible for TPS since 2010, following a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake in the country’s capital, which was followed by political unrest, gang violence, and disease. Biden extended this status in 2021.
Last year, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced plans to revoke TPS for Haiti and Syria, stating these nations no longer met the program’s criteria.
This recent Supreme Court decision marks the first time the court has not immediately granted the Trump administration’s request to revoke a country’s TPS status in the past year, contrasting with two previous cases.
In May 2025, the court allowed the Trump administration to cease temporary deportation protections for Venezuelans while the government appealed. In an unsigned order, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole noted dissenter.
After advancing through the appeals process, the case returned to the Supreme Court, which reaffirmed its decision in October.
