The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that courts cannot review TPS cancellations, clearing the way for deportations of over 300,000 Haitians and thousands of Syrians.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 25 that federal law bars judicial review of presidential decisions to cancel Temporary Protected Status, removing a key legal check on the executive branch's authority to strip humanitarian immigration protections from hundreds of thousands of people [1]. The majority opinion was authored by Justice Samuel Alito [1]. Justice Sonia Sotomayor read her dissent aloud from the bench, a rare act of protest signaling the depth of disagreement among the justices [1].
The decision came in *Mullin v. Doe*, a federal case that reached the Supreme Court as the Trump administration moved to terminate TPS designations for more than 300,000 Haitians and approximately 3,800 Syrians [1]. The ruling arrived alongside a separate Alito opinion in *Mullin v. Al Otro Lado*, giving the administration two of three immigration victories on the same day [1]. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement welcoming the outcomes [2]. Together, the decisions mark a significant consolidation of unreviewable executive discretion over immigration status determinations.
The ruling's practical effect is substantial. TPS designations allow nationals of designated countries to live and work legally in the United States when conditions in their home countries, such as armed conflict or environmental disaster, make return unsafe. By holding that courts lack jurisdiction to review termination decisions, the Court removes the principal procedural avenue that affected individuals and advocacy groups had used to delay or block removals [1]. The ruling effectively insulates the president's TPS determinations from challenge in any federal court, regardless of the basis for the cancellation [1]. DHS indicated it intends to move forward with enforcement following the Court's ruling [2].
The immediate practical consequence is that TPS holders from Haiti and Syria face removal proceedings with no remaining avenue for judicial relief on the underlying termination decision [1]. Affected individuals may still contest discrete procedural or eligibility questions in immigration courts, but the core executive determination that triggered their loss of status is now foreclosed from review. Advocates are expected to pursue legislative relief in Congress, though no bill to codify TPS protections has advanced. The administration is also expected to assess TPS designations for other nationalities in light of the ruling.