US Supreme Court paves way for Trump’s mass deportation of Haitians and Syrians
Top court rules that the administration can strip protections from some 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians in the US
The US Supreme Court on Thursday backed a Trump administration move to strip deportation protections from some 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians living in the United States.
The 6-3 ruling by the conservative-dominated court could have implications for more than one million beneficiaries of so-called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from more than a dozen countries.
Justice Samuel Alito, whose majority opinion was joined by the five other conservative justices, said the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end TPS for Haitians and Syrians was not subject to judicial review.
TPS protects its holders from deportation and is granted to people deemed to be in danger if they return home because of war, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances.
Lawyers for Haitian and Syrian TPS holders contended during oral arguments in April that conditions back home remained unsafe and the administration’s move was motivated at least in part by racial hostility.
Alito rejected claims that race was a “motivating factor” in President Donald Trump’s decision to strip Haitians of TPS status.