The US Supreme Court has delivered a significant ruling affecting roughly 1.3 million immigrants living in the country under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Many of these individuals have legally resided in the US for decades, benefiting from protections against deportation that the Trump administration can now terminate more easily.

TPS, enacted by Congress in 1990, provides temporary relief to people in the US who cannot safely return to their home countries due to natural disasters, epidemics, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. TPS designations typically last between six and 18 months, during which recipients can obtain work permits and are shielded from deportation.

Before ending or extending TPS for a nationality, the Secretary of Homeland Security evaluates the conditions in the affected country. However, Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting in the recent ruling, warned that the majority's decision allows the Secretary to terminate or modify TPS designations without consulting others or assessing country conditions.

The case before the Supreme Court involved TPS for over 300,000 people from Haiti and several thousand from Syria. The ruling has caused concern in sectors such as elder care, where TPS holders represent 8% or more of caregiving professionals in some areas. According to Axios, losing these workers could lead to limiting nursing home admissions, closing units, or turning away home care requests.

In a related decision on June 30, the Court upheld the constitutional right to birthright citizenship for children born in the US to immigrant parents, rejecting an executive order from the Trump administration attempting to end this right. Sirine Shebaya, executive director of the National Immigration Project, noted that “Four justices – three in dissent, plus a fourth who agreed with the result but rejected the constitutional reasoning entirely – would not say plainly that the executive order violates the constitution. That fact deserves as much attention as birthright citizenship prevailing.”

This ruling marks a pivotal moment in US immigration policy, with significant implications for TPS holders and their communities.

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