U.S. Supreme Court Allows Termination of Temporary Protected Status Designation for Syria and Haiti and Upholds Birthright Citizenship

The Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) released major immigration rulings involving terminating Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Syrians and Haitians and ending birthright citizenship. Both issues arose in 2025 as part of the current administration’s immigration initiatives, and SCOTUS decisions on these issues have been expected to widely impact immigration. On June 25, 2026, SCOTUS ruled in favor of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), allowing its termination of TPS designation for Syria and Haiti. Shortly afterwards, on June 30, 2026, SCOTUS ruled in favor of the public, upholding birthright citizenship.

TPS Designation

On June 26, 2026, SCOTUS held in Mullin v. Doe that DHS’s termination of TPS designation for Syria and Haiti cannot be reviewed by the court. This means that effective immediately, TPS designations for Syria and Haiti are considered terminated, and DHS may proceed to act based on these terminations. Separately, SCOTUS rejected the Haitian plaintiffs’ equal protections claim that the TPS terminations were motivated by racial animus. These decisions impact approximately 350,000 Haitians, 6,000 Syrians, and employers currently employing individuals in these statuses.

The decision is important because it severely limits remedies available to impacted individuals and further broadens DHS’s discretionary authority to revoke statuses like TPS without review. Further, the decision is expected to curtail the ability of lower courts to apply an injunction or similar “pause” on DHS’s terminations of other TPS designations until litigation concludes.

Practical Impacts

Immediate impacts include loss of status and work authorization for a significant population that have been living in the U.S. for many years. For example, Syria was first designated for TPS in 2012 because of the civil war and widespread violence under the Assad regime. Syria’s designation was repeatedly designated for approximately 14 years. Similarly, Haiti’s designation began in 2010 following a catastrophic earthquake and received continued designation for issues including human-rights abuses, poverty, healthcare deficiencies, and food insecurity.

Employers can expect a loss of both skilled and unskilled labor that have been sourced by individuals work authorized through TPS. Employers may also need to address I-9 or E-verify compliance matters or explore employer-based work authorization options for its critical employees.

The decision may also push lower courts to quickly move pending litigation involving TPS terminations for other countries including Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen resulting in terminations for each country.

Long-term, TPS designation is expected to be unstable where designations and terminations are affected quickly depending on the administration.

Birthright Citizenship

On June 30, 2026, SCOTUS held that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present or temporarily present in the country are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, birthright citizenship continues.

The issue arose from President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order declaring that children born in the United States to certain unlawfully present or temporarily present parents (such as tourists, students, or temporary workers) were not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore were not U.S. citizens at birth under either the Fourteenth Amendment or the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Importantly, with this decision, SCOTUS affirmed and interpreted broadly the landmark case United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), which held that a child born in the United States to Chinese parents was a U.S. citizen by birth.

SCOTUS ultimately found that the Fourteenth Amendment’s birthright citizenship guarantee applies to children born in the United States regardless of whether their parents were undocumented immigrants or only temporarily present, making Executive Order 14160 unconstitutional to the extent it denied citizenship to such children.

Impact Moving Forward

Taken together, these two decisions illustrate the Supreme Court’s willingness to defer to the political branches on immigration policy where the line on such deference is drawn at basic constructional rights. In Mullin v. Doe, the Court significantly expanded DHS’s discretion by holding that TPS designation and termination decisions are largely insulated from judicial review, making it more difficult for affected individuals to challenge those actions through traditional administrative-law claims. By contrast, in Trump v. Barbara, the Court reaffirmed the longstanding constitutional principle of birthright citizenship. TPS beneficiaries face increased uncertainty and reduced judicial protections, while the constitutional guarantee of citizenship by birth remains firmly intact. The combined effect of these rulings is likely to reshape the immigration landscape where there is broader DHS authority and discretion with limited ability to review. Stakeholders should closely monitor ongoing policy developments and assess potential legal and workforce implications as the Administration continues to pursue broader immigration reforms.

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