TPS Recipients Pin Hopes on Congress Amid Supreme Court’s Mullin V. Doe

The Supreme Court’s ruling has pushed Temporary Protected Status recipients toward Congress, where a change in power after the 2026 midterm elections could determine whether many keep work authorization and protection from removal.

The court ruled 6–3 on June 25, 2026, in Mullin v. Doe that the secretary of Homeland Security’s TPS termination decisions cannot undergo judicial review. Federal courts therefore cannot block those decisions based on statutory claims.

The ruling cleared the way for the administration to end protections for multiple countries. Court orders have lifted safeguards in stages for Haiti, Syria, Burma, South Sudan and other countries, while USCIS has issued country-specific updates tied to the changes.

The pressure is immediate. More than one million recipients face the loss of legal status, according to an Aug. 12, 2026 analysis by the Pew Research Center. The population stood at approximately 1.3 million when the second Trump administration began in January 2025.

A congressional remedy would require more than a change in the House. Democrats would likely need to control both chambers in November and pass legislation that could survive a presidential veto, or attract enough Republican support to override one.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat, said she would introduce the TPS Review Act after returning to Washington in June. The measure would let Congress reverse a termination by a simple majority vote and restore judicial review.

“Hundreds of thousands of families who followed the law. will be torn apart, thrown in ICE jails, or sent back to a nation overrun by criminal gangs. This fight is not over.”

Wasserman Schultz made the statement on June 26. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat, separately backed the TPS Relief Act, saying no administration should have unchecked authority to uproot families and undermine the workforce.

The administration has moved to terminate designations for 14 of the 17 countries that held protection at the start of 2025, according to the National Immigration Forum. Haiti’s designation ended after U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes lifted an injunction on August 4, 2026.

The deadlines now vary by country.

The agency has also published updates on Burma and South Sudan. Those notices reflect terminations and extensions connected to court orders, with effective dates following the June decision.

Three bills offer different routes to relief

The statutory program rests on INA § 244, 8 U.S.C. § 1254a. Congress could amend it to extend protections, broaden eligibility or restrict the department’s ability to terminate designations.

One proposal would go beyond preserving temporary protection. The Dream and Promise Act of 2026, H.R. 1589, led by Rep. Sylvia Garcia, would create a direct path to lawful permanent status for recipients who have lived in the United States for at least three years.

The TPS Review Act would target the authority question. Wasserman Schultz’s bill would give Congress a simple-majority mechanism to reverse a termination and return judicial review to the process.

A third measure focuses on Haiti. The House passed the Haiti TPS Extension, H.R. 1689, on April 16, 2026, by a bipartisan 224–204 vote after Rep. Ayanna Pressley led a successful discharge petition. The bill awaits Senate action.

The proposals face different political hurdles. The Haiti measure already cleared the House, while the broader bills remain stalled or depend on a new congressional majority.

Sen. Luján, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Alex Padilla and Sen. Ruben Gallego criticized the court’s ruling in a joint statement. They called it a betrayal of American families and accused the majority of approving the administration’s mass-deportation effort.

James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, defended the decision. He said the rulings reaffirmed that the program was intended to be temporary and could be canceled at the appropriate time.

The economic and family costs extend beyond immigration status

The largest affected groups include approximately 350,000 Haitians, 600,000 Venezuelans and 50,000 Hondurans, according to figures cited by the American Immigration Council.

More than 100,000 recipients work in health care. Advocates warn that removing them would “devastate healthcare facilities and nursing homes.”

An estimated 390,000 U.S. citizen children live with recipients whose parents could face deportation, according to FWD.us. The same analysis estimates that recipients contribute approximately $29 billion annually to the U.S. economy and pay $7.8 billion in combined federal, payroll and local taxes.

The employment consequences can arrive before a person’s underlying protection formally ends. The administration has revoked employment authorization in some cases even while legal status remains active under a court order, creating pressure to “self-deport,” according to the Pew analysis.

Once a country-specific designation expires, recipients may lose work authorization and face a greater risk of removal. Their options can also depend on separate immigration histories, pending applications and court proceedings.

The 2026 election is less than 90 days away. Until Congress changes the statute, the country-specific termination dates and any applicable court orders will continue to control individual cases.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.