ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL LEADS COALITION URGING SUPREME COURT TO PRESERVE TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR HAITIANS AND SYRIANS

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL LEADS COALITION URGING SUPREME COURT TO PRESERVE TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR HAITIANS AND SYRIANS

April 13, 2026

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul co-led a coalition of 19 attorneys general asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Haiti and Syria. Raoul and the coalition filed an amicus brief today in Trump v. Miot and Mullin v. Doe in support of a challenge to the Trump administration's termination of the TPS designations.

"I am a proud son of Haitian immigrants, so this issue is personal to me," Raoul said. "TPS protects the health and safety of Haitian and Syrian immigrants who significantly contribute to our state and national economies. I will continue to work with my colleagues in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to extend the protection they deserve."

TPS is a humanitarian immigration status created by Congress to protect foreign nationals who cannot safely return to their home country because of war, natural disaster or other extraordinary conditions. TPS allows recipients to live and work in the United States as long as their home country has a TPS designation.

Haitian immigrants have been eligible for TPS since 2010, when a devastating earthquake hit the country. The protections have repeatedly been extended due to unsafe conditions in Haiti, including widespread violence, homelessness and starvation. Syrian immigrants have been eligible for TPS since 2012, when a violent civil war broke out. The protections have been extended multiple times due to the ongoing conflict that continues to cause food insecurity, limited access to health care and clean water, and an increased risk of violence against civilians.

The Trump administration attempted to abruptly terminate TPS for Haitians and Syrians in November of 2025, without any evidence that the dangerous conditions in the countries had improved and even as the U.S. State Department continues to classify both nations as "Level 4: Do Not Travel" countries, its highest risk designation.

In February 2026, lower courts preserved protections for Haitian and Syrian TPS holders while the litigation over the lawfulness of the termination continues. In March 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to hear both cases. The court deferred ruling on the Trump administration's request to allow the terminations to take effect immediately until a decision could be made on the merits of the cases.

In today's brief, Raoul and the coalition urge the Supreme Court to preserve the block on the Trump administration's termination, arguing that termination of TPS for Haitians and Syrians would separate families, damage economies, deplete workforces, increase health care costs, and harm public health and safety.

Together, TPS-eligible Haitians and Syrians contribute more than $3.5 billion annually to the U.S. economy. Across the country, thousands of TPS recipients provide important public services as health care providers, teachers, entrepreneurs, construction workers and more. Hundreds of thousands of TPS-eligible Haitians work in labor-short industries, and Syrian immigrants own businesses at more than triple the rate of U.S. citizens by birth.

Raoul and the coalition are asking the Supreme Court to affirm the lower court orders temporarily blocking termination of TPS for Haiti and Syria.

Joining Raoul in submitting the brief are the attorneys general of California, Connecticut,
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.