The US Supreme Court has delivered a series of rulings that bolster President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies, allowing his administration to end humanitarian protections for Haitians and Syrians and to turn away asylum seekers at the southern border.
Supreme Court rulings empower Trump administration
In a pair of decisions on Thursday, the court's 6-3 conservative majority permitted the administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti and Syria, who have lived and worked legally in the US for over a decade. The court also cleared the way for the government to physically block asylum seekers from setting foot on US soil at the Mexico border. Earlier in the week, the court granted border officials broad discretion to deport lawful permanent residents, including green card holders, if they have committed a crime of 'moral turpitude,' without requiring 'clear and convincing evidence.'
These rulings are part of a broader pattern of policies that restrict immigration from countries in the global south, particularly affecting people of colour fleeing violence and disaster.
Racist underpinnings of immigration policies
Advocates argue that the court has failed to address the racist and nativist philosophy driving Trump's agenda. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, stated that Trump's past remarks calling Haiti a 'shithole country' and saying Haitians were 'poisoning the blood' of the nation did not prove the policies were 'overtly racial.' On the same day, Trump aide Stephen Miller echoed these tropes on Fox News, arguing against admitting migrants from nations that 'have never had contact with the west' and that 'would have never developed the combustion engine or airplanes.'
Since taking office, Trump has paused nearly all refugee admissions except for white South Africans and has worked to reshape the refugee system to favor English speakers and white Europeans. Another policy, struck down by a federal judge, stopped processing immigration applications from 39 countries, largely in Africa and the Middle East.
Impact on TPS holders and asylum seekers
The TPS ruling could be disastrous for the 350,000 Haitians and 4,000 Syrians who have fled political instability, economic collapse, natural disaster, and civil war. 'Families have started asking us questions that we are not able to answer. It is the saddest day of my life,' said Viles Dorsainvil, co-founder of Haitian Support Center and a Haitian TPS holder. José Palma, a coordinator at the National TPS Alliance, said, 'By trying to kill TPS, they are attacking people who are living and working here legally, paying fees and taxes, following all the rules. They are de-documenting people.'
The administration's 'metering' policy at the southern border, now allowed by the court, instructs officials to stand at the border line and block entry to migrants seeking asylum. During the first Trump administration, people, including children, died while waiting in Mexico without medical care or safe housing.
Broader implications for racial justice
Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney for the Syrian plaintiffs, said Alito's reasoning that the policy could not be racist because it targeted multiple groups of colour is 'deeply troubling not just for immigration cases, but for the state of racial justice in this country more broadly.' Advocates are now calling on Congress to extend protections for Haitians, Syrians, and other migrant groups.
