SCOTUS SCHEDULES HEARING ON TERMINATION OF TPS FOR SYRIA AND HAITI IN APRIL
(Washington, DC) – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States deferred the Trump administration’s request to stay a lower court ruling postponing the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria and granted the administration’s request for certiorari before judgment, allowing the government to bypass the normal course of briefing and argument at the appellate level.
In its order, the Supreme Court consolidated two separate lawsuits challenging the termination of TPS for Syria and Haiti respectively and scheduled oral arguments for the end of April. The decision in this case will have ramifications for hundreds of thousands of people whose TPS the Trump administration has attempted to unlawfully terminate. The plaintiffs challenging the termination of TPS for Syria are represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Muslim Advocates, and Van Der Hout LLP.
For the moment, more than 6,100 Syrians will continue to be protected from losing their legal status and work authorization and potentially from being forced to return to danger in Syria until the Supreme Court issues further decisions. More than 800 Syrians with pending TPS applications will also continue to be protected from deportation to a region currently experiencing military strikes and increasing instability as a result of the escalating U.S. conflict with Iran.
“While we are relieved that our plaintiffs and thousands of other Syrians will maintain their TPS status for now, it is disappointing that the Supreme Court took the extraordinary measure of taking on our case before the lower courts have weighed in,” said Lupe Aguirre, Deputy Director of U.S. Litigation at IRAP. “We hope the Supreme Court will see the government's attempt to strip away the lawful status of thousands of Syrian TPS holders who have been living and working in the U.S. for years for what it is–unlawful and wrong.”
“We are relieved that the postponement order continues to remain in effect and that thousands of Syrian TPS holders continue to be protected against forced removal to dangerous and devolving circumstances in Syria, compounded by the regional impacts of the U.S.-led war against Iran,” said Nargis Aslami, Legal Fellow at Muslim Advocates. “The Supreme Court’s decision to take this case at such an early juncture is unusual: the factual record has not been fully developed, and the lower courts have not reached the legal issues on their merits. But we hope the Court sees through the Administration’s lawless and discriminatory agenda to end TPS for Syria, and we urge the public to call their elected representatives to defend TPS against the Administration’s attacks.”
“Although thousands of Syrians remain protected by TPS despite the Trump administration’s repeated efforts to stay the district court’s November ruling, the Supreme Court has accommodated the government’s rare request to hear the case before the litigation could run its normal course,” said Johnny Sinodis, Partner at Van Der Hout LLP. “The administration clearly violated the TPS statute when terminating Syria’s TPS protections, and we are confident that the Supreme Court’s decision to fasttrack its review of the lower court’s preliminary order–based on a record that is not fully developed–will not be for the purpose of legitimizing an unlawful decision and endangering Syrians who relied on TPS while their country remains embroiled in war and instability, only made worse by the administration’s illegal war of aggression against Iran.”
“The Supreme Court’s decision to grant certiorari in this case underscores the seriousness of the legal questions surrounding TPS for Syrian nationals,” said Farrah AlKhorfan, co-founder of Immigrants Act Now. “For the thousands of Syrians affected, the outcome of this case carries significant consequences for their ability to continue living and working legally in the United States. Without these protections, many could be forced to uproot their lives and return to a region experiencing escalating conflict.”
Additional Background
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals previously declined to stay the District Court’s order on February 18, finding that Syrians faced significant and irreparable harm if TPS was suddenly terminated and keeping TPS protections in place while the case proceeded.
In addition to terminating TPS for Syria, in December the U.S. government added Syria to its expanded travel ban and paused decisions on all pending immigration applications for Syrians, preventing Syrian TPS holders from being able to seek other immigration status or benefits.
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