FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2026
Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, April 29 the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two consolidated cases — Mullin v. Doe and Trump v. Miot — that will determine whether the Trump administration can strip Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian nationals living and working lawfully in the United States. Global Refuge, a national nonprofit leader in refugee resettlement and humanitarian protection, urges the Court to uphold these legal protections.
“Tomorrow’s arguments carry enormous consequences, not just for Haitian and Syrian TPS holders, but potentially for more than a million people across seventeen nationalities who rely on this protection,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge. “TPS is not a loophole. It is Congress’s deliberate answer to the question: what do we do when war, environmental disasters, or humanitarian catastrophe makes returning safely impossible? The law says we offer protection until country conditions improve.”
The administration’s claim that TPS holders can safely return to their home countries is contradicted by the facts on the ground, including by the government’s own assessments. The State Department currently warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Haiti or Syria due to severe violence, instability, and limited access to basic services. Haiti continues to experience political collapse, widespread gang violence, kidnapping, and the breakdown of essential infrastructure including food, shelter, water, and health care. The humanitarian situation in Syria remains critical after 14 years of conflict that has resulted in decimated infrastructure and economic collapse. About 15.6 million people remain in need of lifesaving assistance in the country.
“One of the most striking things about these TPS terminations is the evidentiary gap. In case after case, these terminations have come without credible evidence that conditions have improved,” noted Vignarajah. “The administration is essentially arguing two things at once: that these countries are too dangerous for American tourists, but safe enough to deport families to. Policy makers cannot credibly hold both positions at the same time.”
The more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians who hold TPS are not strangers to American communities, but rather, essential contributors to them. They serve as healthcare professionals, teachers, tradespeople, and small business owners who employ American workers. Haitian TPS holders contribute approximately $6 billion annually to the U.S. economy, while Syrian TPS holders contribute an additional $100 million.
“These are people who coach Little League, run small businesses, staff our hospitals, and sit in the pews of our churches,” concluded Vignarajah. “TPS holders have so much to offer, and yet they’ve asked for so little. All they want is the chance to keep doing what they’ve already been doing: working, raising their kids, and contributing to the countless communities that have embraced them as neighbors.”
About Global Refuge:
Global Refuge, formerly Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, is the largest faith-based nonprofit dedicated exclusively to serving refugee children and families. For 85 years, we have welcomed those seeking refuge, upholding a legacy of compassion and grace for people in crisis. We walk alongside individuals, families, and children as they begin their new lives in the United States through our work in refugee resettlement, economic empowerment and employment, and family unification for unaccompanied children. Since our founding in 1939, we have served over 800,000 people from around the globe.
