Migrants living in US under temporary protected status should either apply for permanent residency or return to their home countries, Homeland Security secretary Markwayne Mullin has said, following a US supreme court ruling that could lead to major changes in immigration protections.
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Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Mullin said those affected should either regularise their status or prepare to leave, adding that the government could assist with departure arrangements.
“Either try to fill out the paperwork and be here underneath a permanent status or we'll help you get back to your country,” Mullin said.
“We'll actually give you a plane ticket, plus roughly $2,100 to help you re-establish when you get there, but temporary protective status, according to the courts and in its name itself, is not permanent status,” he added.
His comments came after a split US supreme court decision that cleared the way for the Trump administration to revoke humanitarian protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants. The ruling affects people who had been allowed to stay in US under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a programme created for those fleeing conflict, natural disasters and other crises.
Federal law allows the government to grant TPS to people who cannot safely return to their countries due to war, disaster or similar conditions. The status has often been renewed for years at a time, allowing recipients to live and work legally in the US.
TPS was first granted to Haitians after the devastating 2010 earthquake and to Syrians in 2012 following the outbreak of civil war. However, the State Department still advises against travel to both countries, citing ongoing violence, crime, terrorism and kidnappings.
The US supreme court ruling could impact an estimated 350,000 Haitians and around 6,000 Syrians, potentially exposing them to detention or deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as protections expire. The court’s conservative majority ruled that challengers were unlikely to prove the administration’s actions were racially motivated.
The decision has triggered political debate across US. Some Republican leaders have criticised the move. Ohio governor Mike DeWine said the situation in Haiti remained unsafe and warned of the economic impact of removing long-term workers, particularly in healthcare.
“It’s Haitians who many times are taking care of your mom or your dad who has Alzheimer's, taking care of family members who might be in a nursing home,” DeWine said. “And to say we're going to pull all those out, it's just not in our own self-interest.”
Immigration advocates and affected communities have also raised concerns, warning that ending TPS could disrupt families who have lived and worked in the US for decades. In Springfield, Ohio, Haitian residents described uncertainty and fear about what the ruling could mean for their future, while some local officials and Republican lawmakers have also called for protections to be extended.
The TPS programme currently covers about 1.7 million people from 17 countries.
