SCOTUS lets Trump end protected status for Haitians, Syrians
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The Supreme Court's Thursday ruling allowing the Trump administration to strip immigrants' Temporary Protected Status throws the future of thousands of families in Massachusetts into doubt.
The big picture: Massachusetts is home to nearly 37,000 TPS holders, including 22,000 Haitians and others who fled violence and instability in their home countries.
- Business leaders and immigration advocates have said such a ruling could not only upend the lives of thousands of families statewide, but exacerbate job shortages in health care, construction and other high-demand roles.
Driving the news: The court ruled, 6-3, that Syrian and Haitian nationals aren't entitled to orders delaying the termination of protected status during legal fights against the government's efforts to wind down the program.
- The majority ruling decided that because the plaintiffs didn't prove that race was likely a motivator for the Trump administration to end TPS, "they are not entitled to interim relief on their equal protection claim."
By the numbers: The majority of New England's TPS population lives in eastern Massachusetts, per a recent UMass Boston report.
Context: Some arrived after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, while others were already living in the United States when the protections were designated.
- While the case focused on Haitian and Syrian TPS holders, it has ramifications for the nearly 1.3 million TPS recipients living in the United States from El Salvador, Ukraine, Somalia and other countries.
- TPS has given them protections from deportation and work permits for up to 18 months at a time, requiring them to renew those protections each time.
- Many have raised children and started businesses in Massachusetts, but there's no direct path for a TPS holder to obtain a green card and then citizenship.
Editor's note: This breaking news story is being updated.