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Democrats on Capitol Hill railed against a Supreme Court decision on Thursday that found the Trump administration can strip temporary legal protections from Haitian and Syrian migrants.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 along ideological lines that federal judges are barred from reviewing many of the challengers’ claims, opening the door for potential deportations of hundreds of thousands of individuals who hold temporary protected status (TPS).
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said during a press conference outside the Supreme Court building that she was “shell-shocked” when the decision came down, casting it as a “very cruel and lawless” move.
TPS was created in 1990 to provide temporary, lawful immigration status and protection from deportation to nationals of certain foreign countries who are already in the U.S. when conditions in their home countries make it unsafe for them to return.
The Trump administration has sought to revoke TPS for Haitian nationals, arguing that conditions in the Caribbean country no longer justified the designation.
But Pressley noted that the State Department continues to urge U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the country due the possible risk of kidnapping, terrorism and other dangers.
“If it’s not safe to visit, it certainly is not safe to deport 360,000 of our Haitian neighbors,” she argued.
The House passed a resolution in April that would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend TPS for Haiti until January 20, 2029. Pressley introduced the discharged petition that forced that vote.
Ten Republicans crossed over to support the legislation, which now rests in the Senate. The upper chamber has yet to take it up, and even if it passed, it is highly unlikely President Trump would sign it.
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), the Democratic whip, slammed the Supreme Court for holding what she described as the Trump administration’s “horrendous racist policy of deportations,” arguing it was offensive.
“We are not going to stand by and let Haitian and Syrian and other TPS holders be the brunt of it,” she said, emphasizing that congressional Democrats would push to codify the protections into law.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) implored his colleagues to use the decision to “finally deliver” immigration reform, an issue that has become a lightning rod in the lead up to the November midterms.
“Immigrant families are our neighbors, and they shouldn’t have to live in fear while their futures are decided by anti-immigrant extremists in Washington,” he said in a statement.
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