US Domestic — 2026-06-25

Supreme Court Clears Trump to End Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian Nationals, Rules Courts Cannot Review Termination

BLUFDHS likely sets a Haitian TPS departure deadline before year-end, but the ruling's real weight falls on all 17 active designations now stripped of meaningful judicial oversight.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Mullin v. Doe, vacating orders by federal courts in Washington, D.C., and New York that had blocked termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitian and 6,000 Syrian nationals 123. Writing for the majority, Justice Alito held that the TPS statute's judicial review bar is "clear" and "very broad," precluding APA challenges to DHS Secretary Noem's termination determinations for both countries 12. The court also found the Haitian plaintiffs' equal protection claim likely to fail, concluding that the administration's termination of every TPS designation up for renewal constitutes a sufficient race-neutral explanation for Noem's decision 23. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented, writing that Trump's statements about Haitians "fairly shout" racial motivation and that plaintiffs are entitled to remain in the country while litigation continues 23.

Analysis
The ruling removes APA review of TPS terminations as a categorical matter, foreclosing the primary judicial mechanism that had blocked deportation proceedings against 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. The same reviewability bar extends by doctrinal logic to all 17 active TPS designations. The equal protection holding forecloses animus claims premised on presidential statements where uniform policy application provides a sufficient race-neutral explanation. Active State Department travel advisories for both Haiti and Syria directly contradict the administration's finding that conditions allow safe return. Constitutional equal protection claims survive as the sole remaining judicial avenue, though challengers with direct rather than inferential evidence of racial motivation could limit the ruling's preclusive reach.

4 sources

25-1083 Mullin v. Doe - U.S. Supreme Court
Court allows Trump administration to end removal protections for Syrian and Haitian nationals - SCOTUSblog
Supreme Court allows Trump to remove protections from thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants - NBC News
Supreme Court lets Trump end temporary protections for Haitian, Syrian migrants - The Washington Post