Over a million people could soon be eligible for deportation after the Supreme Court permitted the Trump administration to strip humanitarian protections from certain nationalities.

The high court ruling on Thursday morning specifically concerns the inclusion of Haiti and Syria in the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which protects citizens from select countries from deportation and provides them a pathway to work authorization. The Homeland Security secretary is responsible for determining which countries can receive a TPS designation based on ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, an epidemic or "other extraordinary circumstances," according to the Congressional Research Service.

What the Right Is Saying

The White House celebrated the ruling, calling it a "tremendous win for the Trump administration" in a statement to The Hill. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the decision affirms what President Trump has long maintained.

"Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what President Trump has always maintained: temporary protected status is, by definition, temporary," Jackson said. She added that TPS was "never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency and it is committed to the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security."

The administration has argued that TPS protections have been misused and abused for years. "The Trump Administration continues to lawfully end the egregious abuses to our immigration system that have hurt Americans for years," Jackson said.

What the Left Is Saying

Four Democratic senators on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus condemned the decision as a "betrayal of American families" in a joint statement released on Thursday afternoon. The lawmakers included Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).

"TPS is a legal immigration status and a lifeline for those fleeing violence and disaster," the senators wrote. "Here legally for decades, TPS recipients have become important members of our communities."

The lawmakers argued that ending these protections would harm families who have built lives in the United States. "For the Supreme Court to rubberstamp Trump's mass deportation scheme is cruel and frankly un-American – the impacts will ripple across all immigrant communities and put every TPS holder at risk," they continued. "Let us be clear: we will not stop fighting for a pathway to citizenship for families across America."

What the Numbers Show

As of March 2025, the U.S. provided TPS protections to 330,735 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians under the program, according to the Congressional Research Service. These populations are directly affected by Thursday's ruling.

The Trump administration has threatened to end TPS protection for 13 out of 17 countries currently designated. In addition to Haiti and Syria, the administration has attempted to terminate protections for people from Venezuela, Honduras, Afghanistan, Nepal, Cameroon, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and Nicaragua.

Those additional countries accounted for nearly 700,000 people protected under TPS as of March 2025, according to CRS data. Combined with Haitians and Syrians, more than one million individuals could potentially lose their humanitarian protections if all termination attempts succeed.

The Supreme Court ruling is expected to have implications beyond Haiti and Syria, as legal challenges to further removal efforts will likely be dismissed under this new precedent.

The Bottom Line

Thursday's Supreme Court decision marks a significant shift in immigration enforcement policy. By permitting the administration to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians, the court has established a precedent that could clear the way for terminating protections for hundreds of thousands more.

The ruling gives the Homeland Security secretary broad discretion over which countries remain designated under TPS, reversing previous legal interpretations that had limited termination authority. Immigration advocates expect legal challenges from other affected communities to face dismissal based on this decision.

What happens next: Those currently protected under TPS should monitor official DHS announcements regarding their country's designation status. The administration has signaled it will continue pursuing termination of protections for additional countries. Communities with large TPS populations may see increased outreach efforts from immigrant rights organizations as the situation develops.