Supreme Court Hears Trump Administration's Bid to End Immigration Protections

The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the legality of an effort during the Donald Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that allowed immigrants from Haiti and Syria to remain in the United States. The court will examine the Trump administration's attempts to revoke the TPS designations for approximately 350,000 immigrants from Haiti and 7,000 from Syria.

The TPS system allows individuals to reside and work in the U.S. when their home countries are unable to safely handle their return due to natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other 'special and temporary conditions.'

Wednesday's arguments concern a pair of lower court rulings that blocked the termination of TPS for both countries. The Supreme Court took the somewhat unusual step of hearing the case 'before judgment on the merits' prior to an federal appeals court reviewing the lower court decisions.

The Supreme Court's ruling could have broad implications not only for TPS holders from Haiti and Syria but also for more than 1.3 million immigrants currently residing in the U.S. under similar temporary legal programs. A decision is expected this summer.