Supreme Court Greenlights Trump's Asylum Turn-Away Policy, Strips TPS for Haitians and Syrians

Two rulings, one sweeping signal

The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a double victory on immigration Thursday, issuing a pair of 6-3 decisions that greenlight the government's policy of turning away asylum seekers at the southern border and clear the path for deporting hundreds of thousands of people who have lived legally in the United States for years. Both decisions split along ideological lines, with the court's six conservatives in the majority and all three liberal justices dissenting.scotusblog +1

The first ruling, in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, upheld the federal government's "metering" policy — physically blocking asylum seekers on the Mexican side of the border from reaching a U.S. port of entry. Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito called the question "straightforward": a person "arrives in" a country only when they enter it, meaning noncitizens still standing on Mexican soil have no statutory right to apply for asylum.scotusblog

TPS protections stripped for Haitians and Syrians

The second ruling, in Mullin v. Doe, allows the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians.cbsnews TPS, created by Congress in 1990, lets nationals of countries struck by war or natural disaster live and work legally in the U.S. while conditions remain unsafe at home.scotusblog Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to terminate both designations in 2025, arguing that Haiti's situation had stabilized and that Syria was transitioning to new governance.scotusblog

Alito ruled that the TPS statute's bar on judicial review is "clear" and "very broad," shielding Noem's decisions from court challenge. He dismissed an equal-protection claim over Haiti, acknowledging "heated language" from President Trump — including descriptions of Haiti as a "shithole country" — but concluding none of the remarks were "overtly racial."scotusblog

A blistering dissent from the bench

Justice Sonia Sotomayor read her dissent aloud — a rare practice signaling deep disagreement — warning that the majority gutted mandatory screening procedures designed to protect migrants fleeing persecution.thehill "The consequences of today's decision are predictable," she said. "More people will die. More people will attempt to cross the border illegally, and some will make it while others will not."thehill Alito responded sharply, noting metering had been used under two prior administrations to manage port overcrowding.thehill

Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting in the TPS case alongside Justices Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, argued that the Haitian and Syrian TPS holders "ask for only one thing: that they may stay in this country while they continue to litigate their claims," and were "entitled to that relief."scotusblog

Fear and uncertainty for immigrant communities

The White House hailed both decisions as a "tremendous win."thehill For the hundreds of thousands of affected TPS holders, Thursday's ruling brought immediate fear — many now face loss of work permits and driver's licenses, and some face the prospect of deportation to countries they left behind more than a decade ago.nytimes