The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments regarding the Trump administration’s efforts to terminate legal protections for migrants, a move that could expose up to 1.3 million people from 17 countries to deportation. This action, part of a broader immigration crackdown, directly threatens the livelihoods and safety of workers who have lived and contributed to the U.S. economy for over a decade.
The State's Hand
The government is appealing lower court decisions that blocked the Department of Homeland Security from swiftly ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from Haiti and Syria. The Justice Department asserts that the Homeland Security secretary possesses the authority to terminate the TPS program, arguing that the law bars judges from questioning these decisions. Federal attorneys stated in court documents, “No judicial review means no judicial review,” signaling the state’s intent to exercise unchecked power over migrant labor.
Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second administration, Homeland Security has already ended protections for 13 countries. The Supreme Court has previously sided with the administration, allowing the termination of the program for people from Venezuela, though without detailing its reasoning. Lawyers representing approximately 350,000 migrants from Haiti and 6,000 from Syria contend that judges are permitted to assess whether authorities adhered to legal procedures, alleging that the government circumvented the process in both cases.
Labor Under Threat
For many, the consequences of losing TPS are dire. Sejal Zota, co-founder and legal director of Just Futures Law, described the situation as “life or death.” Attorneys have documented instances where individuals who have lived and worked legally in the U.S. for more than a decade have lost jobs and housing within weeks of protections being stripped. Court documents reveal that four Haitian women deported from the U.S. in February were found beheaded and dumped in a river several months later.
Maryse Balthazar, a nursing assistant who has been in the U.S. for 16 years with temporary legal status after the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, exemplifies the precarious position of these workers. She has two children and works in a field that, according to an industry group’s court papers, relies on Haitian immigrants like her and would be “hobbled” by a Supreme Court decision allowing their status to end. Balthazar stated, “I’d be homeless. I’m scared … it’s a fear we are all living with.” Her home in Haiti was destroyed by the earthquake, and another potential residence was lost to a fire, possibly linked to gang involvement.
Capital's Design
The push to end TPS comes despite ongoing instability in the migrants' home countries. Protections for Syrians were first granted 14 years ago, during a civil war that lasted for more than a decade before the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government two years ago. Haitians joined the program 16 years ago following a devastating earthquake, with extensions granted due to persistent gang violence that has displaced over a million people, according to court documents. Returning to these conditions is not an option for many.
Lower court judges in New York and Washington, D.C., had agreed to delay the end of protections. One court found that hostility toward nonwhite immigrants likely influenced the decision to end protections for Haitians, noting that during his presidential campaign, Trump amplified false rumors about Haitian immigrants. Federal authorities, however, have denied any racial animus in the TPS decisions. This case is one of several immigration matters before the high court this year, including efforts to restrict birthright citizenship and revive a restrictive asylum policy, all contributing to a systemic effort to control and exploit labor through increased precarity.