Supreme Court Clears Path for TPS Terminations

This alert was first published as a blog post.

Decision Allows DHS to Move Forward with TPS Terminations while Litigation Proceeds.

On June 25, the Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) could move forward with the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian nationals, impacting more than 350,000 work-authorized individuals nationwide. While the decision is significant, many critical details remain unresolved, including the timing and mechanics of how terminations will be implemented. As a result, employers and employees alike are left navigating a rapidly evolving landscape marked by legal finality on one hand and operational uncertainty on the other.

For additional background on the issues raised in this case, see our prior blog covering the April 29 hearing available here.

We expect this decision to eventually impact other TPS countries currently in litigation limbo as covered here, such as Burma, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

What Does This Mean for Syrian and Haitian TPS Beneficiaries?

While US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet updated the TPS webpage indicating terminated status for either Syria or Haiti, we expect an update to follow shortly.

The decision significantly limits judicial review over TPS termination decisions. While the court acknowledged that some challenges based on constitutional arguments potentially remain viable, those claims are subject to an extremely high bar, which the Court found the Haitian plaintiffs could not meet here. In effect, the Court has allowed the termination to proceed for these individuals, and individuals should work with their own counsel to determine whether or not they have other legal methods to remain in the United States, or should depart.

It remains to be seen how USCIS and DHS will operationalize the Supreme Court’s decision for the other TPS-designated countries that were being maintained through district court orders. Although DHS has already issued termination decisions for these countries through Federal Register notices, their implementation had been blocked or vacated by lower courts. The Supreme Court’s ruling significantly undermines those injunctions by limiting judicial review of TPS determinations, but DHS will still need to take follow-on steps, most immediately, working through the courts to lift or dissolve existing orders, and then issuing operational guidance (e.g., updated country pages, end dates, and EAD validity) to effectuate the terminations.

Impact on Employers

While US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not yet updated its TPS website to confirm termination for Syria or Haiti, the Supreme Court’s decision removes key legal barriers that had previously limited DHS’ ability to move forward with those terminations. As a result, DHS may now proceed with the terminations, and affected individuals will lose work authorization on the Courts’s decision is implemented. However, the precise timing and mechanics remain uncertain. The government had previously identified July 1, 2026 as a placeholder date in connection with litigation-based extensions, but that date does not necessarily represent a confirmed termination or work authorization cutoff. DHS and USCIS must still issue formal guidance, which may adopt, modify, or replace that date and could include a (unlikely) wind-down period or other transition measures. Regardless, employers should begin planning for reverification obligations but await official agency confirmation before taking any adverse employment action.

These terminations pose significant challenges for employers, including potential workforce disruption, reverification obligations, and heightened compliance risk under compressed timelines. These challenges are enhanced by the lack of government guidance, which may include phased or administratively managed transitions rather than an immediate cutoff.

The uncertainty also has serious consequences for affected employees, many of whom may face sudden loss of work authorization, loss of income, and difficult decisions regarding departure from the U.S.

What Employers Need to Do Now

Employers must immediately begin the process of identifying all TPS populations now to drive efficiency and ensure consistent workforce planning as DHS will move to swiftly effectuate terminations across multiple countries given the holding in this matter.

Employers can do this through examining Forms I-9 and associated work authorization documentation. Those impacted will have used an EAD bearing category code A12 or C19 and will reference the applicable country designation and specific expirations dates. 

For Haitian TPS beneficiaries, employers may have accepted EADs displaying a wide range of printed expiration dates (July 22, 2017; January 22, 2018; July 22, 2019; January 2, 2020; January 4, 2021; October 4, 2021; December 31, 2022; February 3, 2023; June 30, 2024; August 3, 2024; August 3, 2025; and February 3, 2026). Additionally, USCIS has extended these EADs through informal guidance, giving prior “place holder dates” of March 15, 2026, March 27, 2026, and July 1, 2026. If your company did not update, impacted employees may have any of these dates listed on their Form I-9, and any search should include all dates.  

Syrian beneficiaries may have used an EAD displaying an expiration date of either September 30, 2025, March 31, 2024, September 30, 2022, or March 31, 2021. Similar to Haiti, USCIS extended these EADs through informal guidance, giving similar “place holder dates” of March 15, 2026, March 27, 2026, and July 1, 2026.

Once USCIS provides formal direction on timing and implementation, employers must initiate reverification in accordance with Form I‑9 requirements. Individuals must be given an opportunity to present alternative evidence of work authorization. If an employee cannot demonstrate continuing work authorization, they may no longer be employed. Depending on company policy, this may result in suspension without pay or termination. Given the complexity and heightened compliance risk in this area, employers should work with experienced counsel to review and, if needed, update their suspension, leave, and termination protocols to ensure consistency and legal compliance.

What Employers Should Expect Next

Employers can expect that other TPS designations will be swiftly terminated. Employers should closely monitor updated guidance from USCIS and E‑Verify, including the TPS homepage, for announcements regarding terminations, Form I‑9 compliance, and reverification procedures.

Due to the workforce disruption caused by these terminations, leaders should be coordinating with talent acquisition teams and, where appropriate, staffing partners to identify replacement labor strategies and maintain business continuity. Some TPS beneficiaries may choose not to report to work due to uncertainty or fear following the decision, while others may become unavailable due to enforcement activity. As individuals lose underlying work authorization, DHS enforcement priorities may shift towards those without another lawful basis to remain or work in the United States. These dynamics can result in sudden staffing gaps and increased enforcement risk in certain industries. Employers may wish to review their internal response protocols and ensure appropriate processes are in place in the event of government inquiries or worksite activity.

Employers should also be mindful that continuing to employ individuals after their work authorization has expired violates federal law. This will expose employers to civil penalties for knowingly continuing to employ unauthorized workers, as well as fines for substantive Form I-9 violations, including failure to timely reverify employment authorization.

Seyfarth will continue to monitor developments closely and provide updates as additional guidance becomes available.

For more information, contact the authors or your Seyfarth relationship partner directly. Seyfarth’s Immigration Compliance & Investigations specialty group is recognized as a national leader in the field. Trusted by Fortune 100 companies and small businesses nationwide, the team provides strategic, practical guidance across the full spectrum of immigration compliance. The group advises on Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance; ICE inspections and worksite enforcement actions; internal immigration assessments and I-9 audits; DOL immigration-related wage-and-hour investigations; H-1B compliance; and DOJ’s IER and OCAHO anti-discrimination matters, including foreign sponsorship and export control/ITAR issues. The team complements its expertise in the Immigration Compliance and Investigations sector with its first-in-class litigation capabilities. For additional timely updates on all things immigration, subscribe to Seyfarth’s dedicated immigration blog at throughtheimmigrationlens.com.

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*Selene Malench is a Case Assistant on Seyfarth’s Immigration Compliance & Enforcement team. Many thanks for her contribution to this legal update. Thank you to Owen Wolfe on his contribution to this legal update.