After Supreme Court’s TPS decision, more than a million immigrants face scramble to stay in US
By Michael Williams, Priscilla Alvarez, Catherine E. Shoichet, Tami Luhby, CNN
(CNN) — Until Thursday morning, hundreds of thousands of Haitians were legally living and working in the United States, along with thousands of Syrians. Now, their work permits are set to expire and their deportation protections will be terminated, throwing them in legal limbo.
The abrupt change in fate stems from the Supreme Court decision which found that the Department of Homeland Security had broad discretion in determining when to extend or terminate a form of humanitarian relief known as Temporary Protected Status.
It was a major victory for the Trump administration and its mass deportation pledge. And while the case was focused on the roughly 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians who have TPS protection, its repercussions stand to affect hundreds of thousands of additional nationals from 11 other countries. The shockwaves will be felt throughout the communities where they live and the industries in which they work.
“It would be the largest dedocumentization event of people in US history,” said Ahilan Arulanantham, who argued the Syrian TPS case before the Supreme Court and is a law professor at UCLA School of Law.
In a 6-3 decision, the court said lower courts had no ability to overrule DHS’s decisions on the TPS designation, which allows nationals from certain countries that are experiencing humanitarian or natural crises to legally live and work in the US as long as the TPS designation is valid.
Seventeen countries have TPS designation. The Trump administration has moved to end that status for 13 of them.
The court’s decision on Temporary Protected Status was one of two immigration-related wins it handed to the Trump administration on Thursday. In a separate decision, also 6-3, the court cleared the way for the Trump administration to resume a controversial policy that allowed it to systematically turn away migrants from the southern border.
Combined, the decisions give the administration — and those that follow — greater latitude on who is allowed to be in the United States.
“Thanks to these decisions, we now have several more important tools to continue securing our borders,” said Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival in a statement.
And potentially the biggest immigration-related decision from the Supreme Court remains pending: it is due to rule shortly on the Trump administration’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship as it’s been understood for more than century. The citizenship of hundreds of thousands of babies born in the US to certain non-citizen parents hangs in the balance.
What happens next
While both of Thursday’s decisions have wide-ranging implications, the effects of the court’s TPS decision are likely to be felt more immediately, given that crossings at the US southern border remain low. It’s unclear when the stripping of protections will happen, making TPS beneficiaries vulnerable for removal, though it’s expected to unfold over the course of months.
Legal challenges against the administration over revoking TPS for multiple countries will likely be dismissed because of the court’s decision – allowing the administration to move forward with its plans. That means that people who are protected from deportation under designations that the administration has moved to revoke would have those protections stripped, including their work permits.
The Trump administration has argued that TPS designations were always meant to be temporary, and that citizens from countries which are included under the designations have taken advantage of protections against deportation far past when it was safe to return to their homes.
But Haiti has experienced decades worth of natural disasters, political turmoil and violence that has destabilized the country. Since the assassination of its president in 2021, the country has essentially been operating under gang control.
Haiti’s original TPS designation stemmed from a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in 2010. At the time, DHS determined Haitian nationals already in the US should be granted temporary protections from being sent back to their country, given the conditions following that earthquake.
That relief has been extended, most recently after President Jovenel Moïse’s 2021 assassination, until being terminated by the Trump administration.
Thursday’s ruling also came against the backdrop of a pair of earthquakes – the type of disasters that previous administrations would have considered making a country eligible for TPS – that struck Venezuela, killing scores and wounding hundreds.
Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem moved to terminate TPS for Venezuelans in the United States. As of Thursday, DHS, which is now led by Secretary Markwayne Mullin, is not planning to reverse course and extend protections to Venezuelans in the US in the wake of this week’s earthquakes, according to a US official.
Immigration attorneys are urging people from the affected countries to seek any other legal immigration pathways as quickly as possible.
“Do not wait until you are being arrested by ICE to think about this,” said Katie Kersh, managing attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality in Dayton, Ohio. “The immigration system moves very slowly. It’s very difficult to get something done as an emergency at the last minute.”
The future of TPS holders currently living in the United States could vary based on a person’s circumstances. Some may have options to remain legally in the United States, said Geoffrey Pipoly, one of the attorneys who represented Haitian TPS holders in the case that was heard before the Supreme Court.
“It’s not an all or nothing thing. It’s going to depend on individual facts and circumstances whether they have a right to remain. It’s not a question I can answer in general, it’s going to be case by case,” he said.
But, he added, the consequences could be dire for those who are deported.
“Many, many people are going to die violent, needless deaths. That’s the bottom line. That’s the thing that’s kept me up nights for the past eight months,” Pipoly said.
Political reverberations
Some Republicans have warned against the Trump administration’s push to end TPS for Haitians. Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, said in a post on X that, while he has never questioned the president’s ability to end TPS designations, he disagrees with the push to end the one for Haitians “at this time.”
“The situation on the ground in Haiti is a humanitarian and political disaster and continues to warrant an extension,” Lawler, whose district contains a large Haitian diaspora, wrote.
Advocates have asked Congress to consider legislation that would extend TPS for Haitians through the Trump administration.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who has strongly supported Haitian TPS holders, called Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling “a mistake” that will hurt the state and its economy, as well as the nation. The immigrants have revitalized communities such as Springfield, Ohio,
“As a result of today’s ruling, the over 10,000 Haitians who have been living in Ohio (mostly in the Springfield area) legally through TPS will now be here illegally and will be subject to immediate deportation,” DeWine said in a statement. “This also means that while these Haitians were working and contributing to our community and economy yesterday, today it is now illegal to employ them.”
Haitians have become a target of particular vitriol for Trump stemming from his first administration. During the 2024 campaign, the Haitian community in Springfield was repeatedly denigrated by Trump and his then-running mate, JD Vance, both of whom falsely claimed immigrants in that city were eating pets.
A pastor in Springfield told reporters after Thursday’s decision that it could spell a “tragedy” for the city.
“We’re a city that had been in decline for 50 years,” Pastor Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church said. “When Haitians arrived, that was the first time we grew in half a century.”
Contributing nearly $6 billion to the economy
Removing Haitian TPS holders from the workforce will have a major impact on many employers and industries, as well as the economy as a whole, business groups warned.
Nearly 190,000 Haitian TPS holders were employed in early 2025, according to an analysis by FWD.us, a policy and advocacy organization focused on immigration that supports TPS for Haitians. They contribute an estimated $5.9 billion to the US economy, as well as pay $1.6 billion in federal, payroll, state and local taxes.
“[The] decision is a devastating setback for the hundreds of thousands of TPS holders who have built their lives in communities across America and, importantly, for our economy as we stand to lose long term, vetted and skilled workers in critical sectors from healthcare to hospitality to construction and beyond,” Rebecca Shi, CEO of American Business Immigration Coalition Action, said in a statement.
Jan Gautam, CEO of IHRMC Hotels & Resorts, will likely have to lay off roughly 20% of his staff at dozens of hotels in Florida in the wake of the ruling.
Without the workers, he could have to keep some rooms closed at times because the hotels won’t be able to promptly prepare them for the next guests. Plus, he’ll have to spend time finding new employees – already a challenging task – and shell out thousands of dollars training each of them.
“Most of these Haitian TPS workers are willing to work in any situation, cleaning dirty toilets and dirty rooms, to take care of their own families,” said Gautam, who is a member of the American Business Immigration Coalition. “At the same time, they also pay taxes.”
The elder care industry, which is already facing a severe staffing shortage, is also bracing for what the decision will mean for nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home care since many of their employees are Haitian TPS holders. Some may have to limit admissions or requests for service until they can hire more workers.
Colin O’Leary, executive director at Laurel Ridge Rehabilitation & Skilled Care Center, is concerned about how he’ll be able to replace the roughly 10 key staffers that he’ll likely have to let go. But even more than that, he’s worried about the impact on the 115 residents at the Boston facility.
“You lose very caring caregivers that have established relationships with our seniors,” he said.
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