A Supreme Court ruling on Thursday paved the way for the Trump administration to strip legal protections from thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants in the United States.
Since the beginning of his second term, President Donald Trump has been trying to terminate temporary protected status for immigrants fleeing war, natural disasters or other catastrophes. More than 330,000 Haitians and Syrians will lose TPS status nationally, including more than 40,000 New Yorkers who now face the loss of legal protections that have allowed them to live and work in the U.S. for years, according to the New York Immigration Coalition.
Brooklyn's Haitian community has been living in fear, with many individuals not attending school and local business for fear of getting arrested by federal immigration officials for the past two years. Several individuals sued the administration, and in February 2026, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington granted a request to pause the termination of TPS for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds.
However, with a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the administration, which asked to continue with its plan to strip TPS from thousands of Haitians and Syrians.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote that judges overstepped their authority by authorizing interim relief. The court also rejected a claim that the "motivating factor" to remove protections for Haitians was due to race and therefore "are not entitled to interim relief on their equal protection claim."
The ruling is a betrayal of American values and of the promise our country made to protect people from displacement, repression and harm, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement after the ruling.
"Hundreds of thousands of TPS holders have built families, careers, businesses, and communities here in the United States," she said. "They are our neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and loved ones, and they deserve more than to have their lives thrown into chaos by a cruel and reckless administration."
Parents will be separated from their children, longtime residents will lose the livelihoods they have spent years building, and people who have contributed to this country for decades will be forced back to dangerous and unstable conditions, said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition.
"Today’s decision undermines both our obligations to those fleeing for their lives and undermines the safeguards Congress established to protect them," he said. "Congress has the ability to undo this decision, and it must act."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers affected by the decision to call the Mayor's Office of Immigration Affairs Immigration Legal Support Hotline at 800-354-0365 for free and confidential help.
