Democrats slam Supreme Court's Haiti, Syria TPS ruling as advancing ‘white-supremacist agenda’

WASHINGTON, DC: Democratic leaders on Thursday, June 25, accused the Supreme Court of advancing a "white-supremacist agenda" after it ruled that the Trump administration can move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from Haiti and Syria.

The court's decision allows the Trump administration to terminate TPS protections for Haitian and Syrian migrants, potentially exposing thousands to deportation while limiting the ability of federal courts to review the government's decision under the TPS statute. 

Democratic leaders denounce ruling as Haiti, Syria protections lifted

Rep Delia Ramirez was among the most outspoken critics. "Today, Trump's loyalists in the Supreme Court have joined forces with him to deny immigrants' internationally recognized human rights and advance an authoritarian, white-supremacist agenda at home," Ramirez said.

"The Supreme Court's decisions put more than 350,000 TPS holders at risk of deportation and countless more asylum seekers' lives in danger."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also condemned the ruling, in a statement posted on X, saying, "Shame on the far right Supreme Court majority. The Senate must pass our bipartisan bill to restore Temporary Protected Status to thousands of Haitian migrants. Immediately."

New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the decision while highlighting Haiti's ongoing humanitarian crisis.

"Haiti is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. This decision betrays families who followed the law, built lives here, and sought refuge from unimaginable violence. The Haitian community is part of the fabric of New York, and I'll continue to stand up against the overreach of Trump's reckless deportation agenda."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the ruling "one of the largest attacks on immigrants in modern American history," saying thousands of Haitians and Syrians now risk losing the right to live and work in the United States.

"This decision will cause enormous pain across the five boroughs. Here in New York, it falls hardest on our Haitian community, one of the largest in the country, alongside Syrian families," Mamdani said. 

Court cites immigration law as White House hails 'tremendous win'

The Supreme Court's conservative majority concluded that Congress significantly limited judicial review over decisions to terminate TPS designations.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said the law governing TPS leaves many such decisions beyond the reach of federal courts. "The TPS statute plainly bars consideration of respondents' non-constitutional claims," Alito wrote.

The White House welcomed both immigration rulings as victories for the administration. The White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the TPS decision "a tremendous win" and said it "affirmed what President Trump has always maintained: temporary protected status is, by definition, temporary."

"It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency, and it is committed to the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security," Jackson said.

The political debate continued after the rulings, with Senator Ed Markey urging Democrats to pursue structural changes to the judiciary. "The far-right majority on the Court cannot stand. We need to win back the House and the Senate and expand the Court," Markey said.