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Supreme Court Ended TPS for Haitians & Syrians. 350,000 People Now Face Deportation.

Resist Now 3 min read
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Temporary Protected Status ended today for Haitians and Syrians after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the program in a June 25, 2026 ruling. More than 350,000 people nationally and over 200 Vermont residents lost their legal right to live and work in the United States as of July 27.

The decision gives TPS holders a stark binary: remain in the country without authorization and risk deportation, or return to countries the U.S. State Department itself describes as dangerous. TPS was not a new program, it had granted protection for decades to people from nations experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions that make return unsafe.

“It is hard to imagine any human being choosing to return to a place that our own State Department describes as rife with kidnapping, gang activity, violent crime, terrorism, and poor health care.”

Erin Jacobsen, Senior Staff Attorney, Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, July 2026

Some TPS holders in Vermont have moved quickly to secure alternative legal status. Many Haitians in the state have either obtained other legal pathways or are actively exploring them, according to Jacobsen. But those who cannot qualify for asylum or another immigration remedy now have no protected status to fall back on.

Vermonters Are Exploring Third-Country Relocation Because Haiti Is Not Safe

For some Vermont TPS holders, returning to Haiti is not a realistic option. Yvonne Lodico, co-founder and executive director of Grace Initiative Global, a Vermont-based humanitarian organization, said some Haitians she works with are considering leaving the U.S. entirely for a third country. She is coordinating with a humanitarian organization abroad to enable possible relocation this month, though she declined to name the destination country until logistics are finalized.

One Haitian man living in Chittenden County, who declined to be named because of active immigration proceedings, described his plan: stay inside his apartment as much as possible. He has other possible immigration pathways still pending.

The month between the June 25 ruling and today’s effective date gave people roughly four weeks to find legal alternatives or make major life decisions. For many, that was not enough time.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Call your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to co-sponsor legislation restoring TPS protections for Haitians and Syrians. Reference the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling and the 350,000 people currently without status. Vermont’s senators are Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch.

  2. Contact the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over immigration law. Ask the ranking member’s office to hold hearings on legislation that would codify TPS protections into statute so they cannot be eliminated by a single court ruling. The committee’s main line is (202) 224-7703.

  3. Find your state legislators and ask them to support state-level protections for undocumented residents, including limiting state law enforcement cooperation with federal deportation operations. Vermont’s Legislature can be reached at legislature.vermont.gov/people/search.

  4. Contact Vermont Legal Aid or the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project if you or someone you know is a TPS holder still seeking legal options. Vermont Asylum Assistance Project can be reached through the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program at uscri.org/vt.

Sources

VTDigger: End of Immigration Program Forces Difficult Choices for Vermont Residents U.S. Supreme Court: TPS Ruling for Haitians and Syrians, June 25 2026 U.S. State Department: Haiti Travel Advisory Level 4 Do Not Travel USCIS: Temporary Protected Status Program Overview AP: Immigrants Rally for TPS in San Diego, July 9 2026

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