The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration can strip protected status from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants which has allowed them to stay in the US for years. The 6-3 ruling overturned earlier decisions by federal judges that had blocked the administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria.
Thursday’s decision is likely to have implications for TPS holders from other countries too.
In a separate ruling, the court has ruled that migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border are not entitled to apply for asylum until they set foot in the country, giving another win to the Trump administration.
TPS is granted by the government to foreign-born individuals whose home countries are unable to accommodate them, due to war, natural disasters or other catastrophes.
Its recipients can legally live and work in the US for up to 18 months, subject to extensions. During this period, they can not be removed or detained by authorities on the basis of their immigration status.
The US first provided TPS to Haitians after a major earthquake in 2010 and to Syrians after their country descended into civil war in 2012.
In his Thursday ruling, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the law governing TPS clearly prevents courts from reviewing government decisions.
Justice Alito also said the Haitian migrants who sued were unlikely to prove that the administration’s actions were racially discriminatory and violated US constitution’s equal-protection rights under the Fith Smendment.
The court backed the Trump administration in another immigration related ruling on Thursday.
In the 6-3 ruling related to asylum at the US-Mexico border, also written by Justice Alito, the court has allowed Trump, a Republican, to revive a policy first used in 2016, but rescinded in 2021 under the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden.
Under federal law, a migrant who “arrives” in the US may apply for asylum, which the Trump administration had argued ruled out those stopped on the Mexican side of the border.
A lawyer for an immigrant advocacy group had argued that asylum seekers arrive in the US when they reach a port of entry.
By BBC News
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