Supreme Court Ends TPS for Haiti and Syria, Prompting DHS Push for Self-Deportation

On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in Mullin v. Doe that overturned lower-court injunctions blocking the Trump administration’s effort to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti and Syria. The decision cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end legal protections for roughly 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians who had been granted work authorization and lawful presence under the program.

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Within days, DHS General Counsel James Percival warned TPS holders that “the judge holding up termination of Somalia TPS, for example, has refused to even consider the issue until August 20,” and urged them to “take advantage of this generous offer” of $2,600 and a free flight home. Percival also noted that, although the Court’s ruling would not formally take effect for a month, lower courts were already bound by the decision.

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TPS, created in 1990, provides temporary refuge to nationals from countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions. The Trump administration argued that conditions in Haiti and Syria had improved sufficiently for return, a position the Court endorsed, stating that federal courts lack authority to second-guess the executive’s TPS determinations. The ruling also signaled potential termination of TPS for other designated nations.

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• James Percival – DHS General Counsel, the public face of the agency’s self-deportation campaign.

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• National TPS Alliance – Advocacy coalition that has litigated against the administration’s TPS terminations.

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• D. John Sauer – Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice, leading the administration’s petition to the Supreme Court to overturn a lower-court ruling that preserved TPS for 600,000 Venezuelans (case Mullin v. National TPS Alliance).

Reuters

• TPS work-permit extension previously covered nationals from Haiti, Syria, Burma, Yemen, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Somalia.

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• The DHS estimate of affected individuals totals approximately 356,000 for Haiti and Syria combined.

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• The “generous offer” of $2,600 plus a free flight is presented as a voluntary repatriation incentive.

SCOTUSblog

The administration maintains that TPS is inherently temporary and that “conditions in many of the countries on the list have improved enough for immigrants to return home.” DHS asserts that the Supreme Court’s decision “will be implemented as soon as all injunctions are lifted,” leading to an imminent lapse in legal status for TPS holders. The Justice Department, meanwhile, is seeking to keep a lower-court ruling protecting Venezuelan TPS recipients in place while it appeals.

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The National TPS Alliance warned that the Court’s action “throws hundreds of thousands of people into uncertainty overnight,” emphasizing the humanitarian and economic fallout for workers and their families. Business groups and labor unions have echoed concerns that ending work authorization could harm the U.S. economy and disrupt industries reliant on TPS labor.

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• DHS claims the Supreme Court decision is already binding on lower courts, yet the Court itself indicated the ruling would not take effect for a month.

USA Today

• The exact timeline for the termination of TPS for Somalia and other nations remains unclear, with some judges reportedly delaying consideration until August 20.

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• “We strongly suggest you take advantage of this generous offer.” — James Percival, DHS General Counsel

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• “throws hundreds of thousands of people into uncertainty overnight.” — National TPS Alliance

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• “Respondents’ equal protection claim also has no basis in the Constitution. The Constitution has only one Equal Protection Clause, and it applies only to the ‘State[s],’ not the Federal Government.” — Justice Thomas, concurring opinion in Mullin v. Doe

SCOTUSblog

• “The judge holding up termination of Somalia TPS, for example, has refused to even consider the issue until August 20.” — James Percival, DHS General Counsel

Newsweek

The administration plans to ask the Supreme Court to stay the lower-court decision preserving Venezuelan TPS while its appeal proceeds. Meanwhile, affected TPS holders must decide whether to accept the voluntary repatriation offer or face removal proceedings once the termination becomes effective.

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