News & Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 2026
MEDIA CONTACTS
IRAP | Spencer Tilger | media@refugeerights.org
Just Futures Law | Citlaly Mora | citlalymora13@gmail.com
ACLU NorCal | Candice Francis | press@aclunc.org
Miñana Center | Sandra Hernandez | hernandezs@law.ucla.edu
Muslim Advocates | Nargis Aslami | nargis@muslimadvocates.org
NDLON | Palmira Figueroa | pfigueroa@ndlon.org
Van Der Hout | ndca@vblaw.com
“IT IS THE SADDEST DAY OF MY LIFE:” PRESS CALL ON SCOTUS DECISION ALLOWING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO END TPS FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HAITIANS AND SYRIANS
Access a recording of the press call HERE
(Washington, D.C.) — On a press call today, legal experts and affected community members responded to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn two federal court rulings delaying the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria and Haiti. The ruling in Mullin v. Dahlia Doe and Trump v. Miot, means hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrant community members will lose their ability to live and work legally in the United States and may be subject to detention and deportation to danger. The decision is scheduled to take effect in 32 days barring any further district court orders.
The Court also severely limited the ability of TPS holders to challenge even blatant violations of the TPS statute created by Congress, foreclosing court review of all the claims Plaintiffs had raised except for those that allege constitutional violations. The decision paves the way for the Trump administration to strip TPS status from more than 1.3 million people with limited judicial oversight in what would be the largest de-documentation campaign in U.S. history, stripping people of legal status and work authorization.
Syrian plaintiffs are represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Muslim Advocates, and Van Der Hout LLP, alongside the ACLU National, the ACLU of Northern California, the Miñana Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). Haitian plaintiffs are represented by Just Futures Law, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP), Kurzban, Kurzban, Tetzeli & Pratt, and Giskan, Solataroff & Anderson.
Key speaker quotes from the press call are below and a recording is available HERE.
In order of appearance:
José Palma, Coordinator, National TPS Alliance, said: “This is not the end. At least as immigrants, we all know that things have never been easy, are never easy. We will continue fighting for a better future for the 1.3 million people who deserve to continue keeping their families together and who deserve to continue living in the United States.”
Ahilan Arulanantham, Professor from Practice and Co-Director, Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law, said: “The Supreme Court has consistently ruled against the rights of immigrant communities in important cases in the last several years, and this case fits that pattern. The decision hands to the administration, and to the far rightwing of the anti-immigrant movement, an important victory that they have been unable to obtain through Congress for a number of years. Members of this administration have long wanted to kill off TPS protections through legislation. This victory allows them to accomplish much the same result without having to go through Congress. The Supreme Court decision also finds it’s not even ‘likely’ that the President’s statements and Secretary’s Noem’s statements about Haitians were motivated by race discrimination. That conclusion is deeply troubling not just for immigration cases, but for the state of racial justice in this country more broadly.”
Farrah AlKhorfan, Co-Founder, Immigrants Act Now, and Syrian Community Activist said: “For thousands of Syrian TPS holders and TPS holders from other communities, this decision brings deep disappointment and renewed uncertainty after years of building their lives in the United States. Many in the Syrian community now feel lost as they try to understand how this decision will be implemented and how much time they have left to prepare, which remains their biggest concern. We hope the dignity and resilience of all TPS holders continue to be recognized.”
Lupe Aguirre, Deputy Director of U.S. Litigation, International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), said: “Today, the Supreme Court held that federal courts are effectively powerless to hold the government accountable to the rule of law and the rights and protections for TPS holders, even when the government’s violation of the TPS laws are clear as day and even when those violations will allow the government to send people to danger and war-torn countries. Today’s opinion and the imminent loss of TPS for Syrians and Haitians is a recipe for chaos, cruelty, and is yet another blow to our democracy. Congress must act to protect the rule of law and TPS holders nationwide. And we must continue to fight to hold all our branches of government accountable to uphold the rights and dignity of our immigrant neighbors and community members.”
Melissa Keaney, Legal Director, Muslim Advocates, said: “Despite today’s decision, the fight continues. Importantly, while today’s decision forecloses the legal claims that were brought in these consolidated cases, it does not close off all possible legal claims. We are committed to continuing to harness every legal tool available to fight for our clients’ right to remain in the United States and live with dignity. We also call on Congress to immediately restore the vital humanitarian lifeline that TPS represents for the sake of TPS holders, their families, and our communities. ”
Emi MacLean, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU of Northern California, said: “Today’s decision is unconscionable, egregious, and devastating, leaving 1.3 million people at the mercy of the Trump administration’s cruel and lawless deportation machine. Congress must act swiftly to avoid the devastation that this decision greenlights in our communities, economy, and countless lives.”
Jessica Bansal, TPS Counsel, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), said: “The Supreme Court just washed its hands of the civil rights of these individuals. This decision places at the foot of Congress a crisis. Are we going to watch half a million people get torn from their communities, or will Congress do something to stop this?”
Viles Dorsainvil, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Haitian Support Center, and a Haitian TPS holder, said: “It was shocking news. Maybe my expectations were too high because I believe in a country such as the U.S.A. there should have been some type of checks and balances, but what I see happening is that all the conspiracy theories from the President against minority groups [were accepted by the highest court]. And now we are in a situation where we don’t know how things will be for our community. Families have started asking us questions that we are not able to answer. It is the saddest day of my life.”
Additional Information
- Listen to a recording of the call: HERE
- Read the decision: HERE
- Fact sheet about the case: HERE
- Background on the Syria TPS case: HERE
- Background on the Haiti TPS case: HERE
- Amicus briefs in support of TPS: HERE and HERE
- Resources for TPS holders: HERE
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