Practice Alert: Supreme Court Rules Against Haitian and Syrian TPS Beneficiaries
Decision will allow TPS terminations to move forward.
On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its long-awaited decision in Mullin v. Doe. The Supreme Court addressed both Mullin v. Doe 25-1083 (Haiti) and Trump v. Miot 25-1084 (Syria) in its decision. The cases, brought by Haitian and Syrian TPS beneficiaries, centered around the DHS Secretary’s authority to terminate a TPS designation and to what extent that termination was reviewable. The Court held that the judicial branch does not have the power to review an Administration’s decision to end TPS for any country. The Court also rejected a constitutional challenge (equal protection claim) brought by Haitian TPS holders who argued that Haiti's designation was terminated on the basis of race, finding that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove racism was a motivating factor in the decision.
Employers of Haitian and Syrian TPS holders have only days to act, with both groups’ work authorization set to expire on July 1, 2026, pursuant to prior USCIS guidance. This time crunch is based on the potential assertion that an employer may be accused of knowingly continuing to employ unauthorized worker(s) in this situation. 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians are subject to the consequences of this decision.
Today’s ruling will almost certainly accelerate the resolution of pending challenges to the Administration’s decisions ending work authorization and status for other TPS-designated countries. As such, other employees with TPS, including Burma (Myanmar), Ethiopia, Nepal, Somalia, South Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen, may see their work authorization end in the coming weeks and months. The pending litigation for TPS Honduras and Nicaragua may also result in termination. At this time, the TPS designations that remain valid include El Salvador (valid until September 9, 2026), Lebanon (valid until November 27, 2026), Sudan (valid until October 19, 2026) and Ukraine (valid until October 19, 2026). A limited group of Venezuela TPS employees have work authorization valid until October 2, 2026.1
What This Means for Employers
USCIS has been directing employers to use July 1, 2026 as the TPS expiration date for both Haitian and Syrian employees for Form I-9 and in E-Verify. With no further court intervention expected, that date is now effectively final, absent additional judicial action.2 AILA is closely watching I-9 Central and the individual TPS webpages for potential guidance from USCIS for any additional leeway as to the July 1 date.
Employers enrolled in E-Verify may receive notifications from DHS flagging employees who may no longer be authorized to work. Employers should ensure their E-Verify coordinators are monitoring the system closely in the days surrounding July 1 and are prepared to respond to any such notifications promptly.
Employees have no affirmative duty to self-report a loss of work authorization. It is employers that have the obligation to reverify employees who will lose work authorization – as indicated on the Form I-9 – by completing Supplement B of the current Form I-9. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, an employee cannot present their expiring TPS Employment Authorization Document (EAD) for this purpose. Instead, the employee must present a different, unexpired document or combination of documents from the Form I-9 Lists of Acceptable Documents establishing current work authorization. Employers should not assume that an employee may not be able to provide such documents.
An employee who cannot present valid, unexpired evidence of work authorization after July 1 cannot lawfully continue working. Continuing to employ that individual creates potential serious civil, and in some cases, possible criminal exposure for the company.
Conclusion
The Mullin v. Doe decision has significant implications for TPS holders and established regulatory processes that have been relied upon by thousands. Employers should adjust to the new interpretations to ensure compliance with their legal requirements related to documenting employment authorized workers.
1 See AILA Doc. No. 26013062, https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-related-news/update-supreme-court-order-for-tps-venezuela-0 and https://www.e-verify.gov/about-e-verify/whats-new/update-supreme-court-order-for-tps-venezuela-0
2 Note, Plaintiffs argue that they remain work authorized until the District Court(s) grant motions dissolving the injunction(s). They further argue that this cannot happen for a minimum of 32 days, as that is the time it takes the Supreme Court to issue its mandate. The expected date for the implementation of the decision would be around July 27. This contentious issue is up for interpretation and each company will have to weigh this against any future USCIS guidance in determining whether to terminate an employee. Emil MacLean, a senior attorney at the ACLU for Northern California noted that in 32 days work authorization for all Haiti and Syria TPS holders would most likely end.