- The Supreme Court allows the removal of protected status for migrants.
- Haitian and Syrian nationals face the loss of legal US residency.
- New rulings limit asylum applications for those at the Mexican border.
The US Supreme Court has handed a victory to Donald Trump. A 6-3 decision confirms the administration can now strip protected status from hundreds of thousands of migrants from Haiti and Syria. This move kills off previous blocks by federal judges.
Specifically, the ruling targets 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria. These individuals had lived and worked in the US for years. TPS allows residency for 18 months, though extensions are often granted by the state.
Court ruling allows termination of protected status
Recipients of this status are usually protected from being detained or removed by authorities. However this legal shield is now being dismantled. It is expected that TPS holders from other nations will be affected by this legal shift.
In another separate matter the court decided that migrants at the US-Mexico border cannot apply for asylum. This applies unless they have already set foot in the country. Asylum seekers must enter the US before filing applications.
The court’s 6-3 majority enables Donald Trump to bring back a 2016 policy. This specific approach was previously stopped in 2021 by Joe Biden. The administration argues that migrants stopped on the Mexican side are not eligible.
A lawyer for an advocacy group claimed asylum seekers arrive when they hit a port of entry. This argument was rejected. Under federal law the term « arrives » is now interpreted as physical entry into the country’s territory //
