Trump Admin Asks SCOTUS to Allow Deportation of 350,000 Haitians
The U.S. Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court of the United States on Wednesday to allow the administration to move forward with ending temporary deportation protections for more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants.
The request for emergency relief is the latest development in legal disputes stemming from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to terminate Temporary Protected Status for several countries. Ending the designation would make affected immigrants eligible for deportation.
The Supreme Court has previously allowed the administration to roll back similar protections for Venezuelan migrants, while a separate request involving Syrian immigrants remains pending before the court.
Haiti was first granted Temporary Protected Status in 2010 after a devastating earthquake killed more than 300,000 people and caused widespread destruction across the country.
During his first administration, President Donald Trump moved to rescind Haiti’s TPS designation. However, the decision became tied up in litigation and was not implemented before he left office.
After returning to the presidency for a second term, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced steps to end Haiti’s TPS designation, with the change scheduled to take effect Feb. 3.
In announcing the decision, Noem said ending the protections reflected “a necessary and strategic vote of confidence in the new chapter Haiti is turning” and aligned with the administration’s broader foreign policy approach toward a “secure, sovereign and self-reliant Haiti.” She acknowledged that some conditions in the country remained concerning but said certain areas were suitable for return.
In December, five Haitian nationals filed a lawsuit challenging the termination of TPS and sought to block the move. A federal district court granted their request last month, concluding in part that the decision to end the designation was likely motivated by racial animus, without providing any evidence to justify that determination.
“Kristi Noem has a First Amendment right to call immigrants killers, leeches, entitlement junkies, and any other inapt name she wants,” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee and first LGBTQ federal judge, wrote.
“Secretary Noem, however, is constrained by both our Constitution and the [Administrative Procedure Act] to apply faithfully the facts to the law in implementing the TPS program. The record to-date shows she has yet to do that,” she added.
Noem has since been replaced as head of the Department of Homeland Security by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullen. She is now serving as special envoy for the Shield of the Americas.
The DOJ appealed the ruling, but a divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit declined to block the lower court’s decision.
In its filing asking the Supreme Court of the United States to intervene, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that the legal reasoning adopted by the lower court could undermine a wide range of immigration policies implemented by the administration,
Sauer wrote that the theory relied upon in the ruling could potentially invalidate “virtually every immigration policy of the current administration.”
Federal courts, he said, “are again attempting to block major executive-branch policy initiatives in ways that inflict specific harms to the national interest and foreign relations, while crediting harms to respondents that inhere in the temporary nature of TPS.”
Temporary Protected Status was established by Congress in 1990 to provide temporary protections for individuals from countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other “extraordinary and temporary” conditions that make returning unsafe.
Individuals from countries designated for TPS generally cannot be deported while the designation remains in place and are eligible to obtain work authorization. The protections are typically granted for periods of up to 18 months and can be renewed if conditions in the designated country persist.
As part of his immigration policy agenda, President Donald Trump has moved to terminate TPS designations for immigrants from multiple countries. Those include Afghanistan, Haiti, Nicaragua, Somalia and Yemen, among others, CBS News noted.
Thune Breaks With Trump, Backs Cornyn After Paxton Endorsement
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday he will continue supporting Sen. John Cornyn despite President Donald Trump endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in one of the most closely watched Republican Senate primaries of the 2026 cycle.
Speaking to reporters following Trump’s endorsement announcement, Thune praised Cornyn as “a principled conservative” and an “effective senator” for Texas, signaling a rare split between Senate Republican leadership and the president.
“Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas,” Thune said.
“None of us can control what the president does. That doesn’t change the way I feel. I will continue to be supportive of Senator Cornyn in his re-election,” Thune added.
The comments came just hours after Trump formally endorsed Paxton on Truth Social, delivering a major boost to the Texas attorney general as he seeks to unseat Cornyn in the Republican runoff election.
In his endorsement, Trump criticized Cornyn for insufficient loyalty during politically difficult periods of his presidency.
“Ken Paxton has been a warrior for Texas values and for our America First agenda,” Trump wrote. He added that Cornyn “was not supportive of me when times were tough.”
The endorsement immediately intensified an already bitter and nationally significant Republican primary battle that has exposed growing tensions inside the GOP between establishment Senate Republicans and Trump-aligned populists.
Early voting in the runoff began Monday and continues through Friday, with Election Day set for May 26.
Despite the internal divisions, Thune expressed confidence Republicans would retain control of the Senate in November.
“I’m very confident we’ll hang on — and maybe even expand the majority of the United States Senate,” Thune said.
Republicans currently hold a six-seat Senate majority. Democrats would need a net gain of four seats to retake control of the chamber.
Several races, including contests in Maine, Michigan, and North Carolina, are currently viewed as highly competitive.
The Texas race has become particularly important because Democrats believe a bruising Republican runoff could weaken the eventual GOP nominee heading into the general election against Democratic candidate James Talarico.
Recent polling has suggested an unusually competitive general election environment in Texas. One survey released Monday reportedly showed both Cornyn and Paxton running roughly even with Talarico in hypothetical head-to-head matchups.
That possibility has alarmed some Republicans, particularly moderates concerned that Paxton’s legal controversies and polarizing political image could jeopardize a seat long considered safely Republican.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski openly criticized Trump’s endorsement Tuesday, warning it could backfire politically.
“I was supremely disappointed,” Murkowski said. “How does that help strengthen the president’s hand when we lose a state like Texas?”
Paxton has remained a dominant figure among Texas conservatives despite years of legal and political controversies, including securities fraud charges that were later resolved and an impeachment battle in the Texas legislature from which he was ultimately acquitted by the state Senate.
Trump allies have framed the race as a test of loyalty to the president and the broader America First movement, while Cornyn supporters argue the longtime senator offers stability, fundraising strength, and legislative experience critical for maintaining Republican control of the Senate.
Cornyn, who has served in the Senate since 2002 and previously chaired the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has longstanding ties to GOP leadership and donor networks in Washington. But critics on the right have increasingly portrayed him as part of the party establishment out of step with the Republican base.
Paxton has sought to capitalize on that frustration, presenting himself as a fighter aligned more closely with Trump’s populist agenda on immigration, election integrity, and federal power.
The runoff has also become a broader proxy battle over the future direction of Senate Republicans after Trump’s sweeping victories reshaped the party.
