Supreme Court TPS Ruling Threatens 330,735 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians, Stripping Judicial Review of Non-Constitutional Claims

The Court's decision in Mullin v. Doe (25-1083) reversed lower-court injunctions that had blocked the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and Syria. Justice Alito authored the 6-3 opinion, holding that Section 1254a(b)(5)(A) strips courts of jurisdiction over non-constitutional challenges to TPS terminations. The ruling directly impacts 330,735 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians, as reported by the Congressional Research Service as of March 2025 (see congress.gov/crs-product/RS20844). These numbers align with CRS data cited by The Hill and AOL, though the American Immigration Council has used the figure 'roughly 350,000 Haitians and 4,000 Syrians'; the discrepancy likely reflects different reporting dates or rounding. The CRS figures are the official source used in the Court's briefing.

While the decision is devastating, it explicitly preserves the possibility of constitutional challenges—including equal protection and due process claims. This opens a narrow but vital avenue: advocates can still argue that the termination was motivated by discriminatory intent or violated procedural due process. However, the ruling forecloses standard Administrative Procedure Act claims, meaning DHS can move to end TPS for both nations without court review of the factual or policy basis for the decision. As immigration attorney Allen Orr warned, the ruling will cause suffering and death as deeply embedded workers face deportation to countries still in crisis. The immediate response focuses on organizing constitutional litigation, expanding state-level legal defense funds, and building pressure on Congress to amend the TPS statute to restore judicial review—a long-term legislative effort that depends on public demand.