Supreme Court Deals Devastating Blow to Asylum and Humanitarian Protection: Asylum Seekers Turned Away, While TPS Holders Face Loss of Status

Washington, DC — Refugee Council USA (RCUSA) condemns today’s Supreme Court decision in Mullin v. Doe, allowing the administration to move forward with terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians and Syrians. This TPS decision does not occur in isolation. In a second ruling in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, issued the same day, the Supreme Court authorized the administration to turn away asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border before they can access the asylum process. In a single day, the Supreme Court has sanctioned the stripping of legal protections from families that had fled violence, persecution, and humanitarian crises, further eroding a humanitarian protection system that has long reflected America’s values and legal commitment not to return people to places where their lives would be in danger.

The message is devastating: permanent and temporary pathways to protection are closing at the very moment global displacement remains at historically high levels. 

The TPS decision paves the way for hundreds of thousands of families to be torn apart and their lives turned upside down. The consequences of this ruling will be felt far beyond the individuals directly affected. TPS holders have built their lives in the United States for years, if not decades, raised U.S. citizen children, and are integral members of our communities and workforce. They serve as healthcare workers, teachers, entrepreneurs, faith leaders, and caregivers.

The Al Otro Lado decision sanctions an anti-asylum policy that undermines both U.S. law and basic principles of fairness. Blocking asylum seekers from seeking protection by permitting the government to turn people away before they can even request asylum is an affront to vulnerable people fleeing life-threatening circumstances and to our rule of law. 

At a moment when the world is watching the United States host the World Cup and celebrate the unifying power of global community, this decision sends a chillingly different message: that people who fled war, political instability, humanitarian catastrophe, and persecution can have their legal protections stripped away with little regard for the consequences,” said John Slocum, Executive Director of RCUSA. “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. These rulings are a profound moral and policy failure. History will remember how we responded when families fleeing danger asked for protection.

RCUSA calls on Congress and the administration to act immediately to provide durable protections and permanent solutions for TPS holders and asylum seekers and their families. Congress should pressure the Trump administration to fully restore access to asylum at the U.S. border, push the administration to restore and maintain all TPS designations warranted by sincere reviews of relevant country conditions, including for Haiti and Syria, and pass a pathway to citizenship for TPS holders. 

Visit RCUSA’s website for ways to TAKE ACTION.

Media contact: Mariam Sayeed, msayeed@rcusa.org 

RCUSA is a diverse coalition advocating for just and humane laws and policies, and the promotion of dialogue and communication among government, civil society, and those who need protection and welcome. Individual RCUSA members do not all address all refugee-related issues, nor do all individual members approach common refugee-related issues identically.