Thousands of Bay Area residents who have relied on longstanding immigration protections may now face deportation, after the US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration has the power to terminate Temporary Protected Status without court oversight.
In a 6-3 decision, the court cleared the way for the administration to end TPS for hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti and Syria.
Lupe Aguirre, deputy director of US Litigation for the International Refugee Assistance Project, described the move as potentially the largest “de-documentation effort in history.” The decision came as a shock for immigrants who, for years or even decades, have been allowed to live and work lawfully in the US.
“After you’ve been here for like 20 years, it’s not temporary anymore. It’s part of who you are,” said Cristina Morales, a Bay Area educator from El Salvador who was protected under TPS for over two decades until March, when she became a permanent resident.
Even with her own status now secure, she said the ruling left her shaken: “It made me feel so broken, because not many people have the opportunity to adjust their status.”
Congress established the program as part of the Immigration Act of 1990, for immigrants already living in the US whose home countries are experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters or other “extraordinary conditions.”
