The Supreme Court of the United States ruled last Thursday in favor of the Trump administration’s attempts to end Haitians’ Temporary Protected Status (TPS). 

The ideologically-aligned 6-3 vote in Mullin v Doe paves the way for the potential deportation of around 350,000 Haitians currently living in the United States under TPS, despite the Caribbean country’s deteriorating humanitarian crisis.

Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival welcomed the ruling, along with two other immigration-related victories for the Trump administration this week, writing: “Thanks to these decisions, we now have several more important tools to continue securing our borders.”

The ruling follows a lower court ruling in February blocking a prior attempt to terminate Haitians’ TPS. In that case, five Haitian nationals with TPS sued the government, asserting that then-head of the Department for Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, had not followed the required procedure in her decisionmaking.

The lawsuit also claimed that the decision was racially motivated, rendering it illegal due to the Constitution’s prohibition of discriminatory government actions. 

But Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, claimed that “the Secretary’s TPS designation decisions are not subject to judicial review.” 

The plaintiffs were also “unlikely to prove that race was a motivating factor,” the conservative judge added, and therefore “are not entitled to” keep TPS whilst the case is ongoing, meaning that they are no longer protected from deportation.

Despite the party’s backing, some Republican politicians have criticized the Supreme Court decision.

The Governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, issued a statement calling the ruling “a mistake,” citing the over 10,000 Haitians that “were working and contributing to our community and economy.”

Congressman Mike Lawler emphasized that “conditions in Haiti remain extremely dangerous due to rampant gang violence, political instability, and a severe humanitarian crisis.”

“Just like it is not safe for Americans to go to Haiti, it is not safe to force Haitians to return at this current moment in time,” he added.

Although Haitians were first granted TPS in 2010 following a devastating earthquake, the designation was repeatedly extended due to its ongoing humanitarian and political crisis. 

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moises in 2021, Haiti has suffered from institutional collapse and rife gang violence. More than 8,100 murders were documented across the country from January to November last year according to the UN.

The Department of Homeland Security, then headed by Noem, had justified February’s attempt to terminate Haitians’ TPS status, saying that the former secretary had “determined that there are no extraordinary or temporary conditions in Haiti that prevent Haitian nationals… from returning to safety,” and that “it is contrary to the national interests of the United States to permit Haitian nationals… to remain.” 

But Mwiti Mungania, the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Director for Haiti, told Latin America Reports that the situation on the ground has only worsened since February.

Mungania described “a clear trajectory” of “deteriorating security, expanding armed group influence, and a deepening humanitarian crisis with direct implications for civilian protection and limited prospects for political stabilization.” 

“The violence has intensified on multiple fronts. Clashes between armed groups have become more frequent and more widespread, with attacks on civilians, infrastructure, and key transport routes all rising,” Mungania added.

Around 1.5 million people are now internally displaced according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

In a press release, the IRC said that “many repatriated Haitians arrive with nowhere to go – nearly 20% were already internally displaced before leaving the country and others remain cut off from loved ones due to expanding gang control.”

“Returnees are prime targets for harm, exploitation, and even murder by gangs,” it highlighted. 

In a dissent joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, liberal Justice Elena Kagan argued that “the statute allows judicial review of whether the Secretary adhered to the procedure it mandates.” 

Kagan also asserted that “the evidence [of the role of race] is there, plain to see, in the President’s statements.”

These include Trump’s labelling of Haiti as a “shithole country” which is “filthy, dirty, [and] disgusting,” as well as his 2024 election debate claims that Haitian immigrants were “eating the pets of the people that live [in Springfield, Ohio].”

Featured image: US Supreme Court

Image credit: Joe Ravi via Wikimedia Commons