In a decisive win for the rule of law and common sense, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Trump administration is within its authority to strip Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian nationals.
The 6-3 decision overturns lower court rulings that had improperly blocked the administration from ending these designations, which were originally intended as short-term measures but had morphed into de facto amnesty.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, correctly noted that the law governing TPS prevents courts from second-guessing government policy decisions. The administration’s victory highlights a return to the principle that immigration status is a matter of national policy, not a permanent entitlement.
DHS General Counsel James Percival rightly celebrated the ruling, stating that the 'T' in TPS stands for 'temporary,' and that the court's decision upholds the integrity of our immigration system. In a separate 6-3 ruling, the Court also affirmed that migrants cannot claim asylum until they have actually set foot on U.S. soil.
The Court rejected the absurd argument that individuals standing in Mexico have 'arrived' in the United States. Justice Alito dismissed the legal gymnastics of the opposition as a 'straightforward' matter of language, noting that one cannot arrive in a place before entering it.
By reviving the 2016 policy requiring physical presence for asylum applications, the Court has provided the administration with the necessary tools to secure the border and end the exploitation of our legal system by those attempting to bypass standard entry procedures.
Tags
