Roughly 356,000 immigrants from Haiti and Syria are now staring down the prospect of deportation after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for the Trump administration to dismantle Temporary Protected Status protections — a ruling that prompted Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to deliver a blunt message just days later: get legal status or get out.

Speaking Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, Mullin laid out what he described as the two paths available to affected immigrants: "either try to fill out the paperwork and be here underneath a permanent status or we'll help you get back to your country." The administration, he said, would sweeten that second option with a plane ticket and approximately $2,100 in resettlement assistance.

Protections for Haitian nationals trace back to the catastrophic 2010 earthquake, while Syrian TPS was first extended following the outbreak of civil war in 2012; both have been renewed repeatedly in the years since. The conservative-majority court determined that Haitian plaintiffs who argued the terminations were racially motivated were unlikely to prevail on that claim, effectively handing the Department of Homeland Security authority to let those protections lapse.

The timing is notable given that the State Department currently advises Americans not to travel to either country, pointing to pervasive violence, crime, terrorism and kidnapping. Federal statute allows the government to shield people from removal when they are fleeing war, natural disaster or similarly dangerous circumstances — the very conditions that still exist in both nations.

With an estimated 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians now potentially exposed to detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement or forced removal, advocates and community members have reacted with alarm. Springfield, Ohio became a flashpoint during the 2024 campaign when then-candidate Donald Trump falsely claimed Haitian residents were eating pets, triggering bomb threats and white supremacist demonstrations.

Franky Pierre, who fled to the United States during Haiti's 1991 military coup, described what the decision will mean for his adopted city. "For Springfield, it's going to hurt. When I came here, this area was dead. In this plaza, there are [now] seven Haitian businesses," he told the Guardian. TPS holders, he warned, "are going to have to run away or go somewhere, which I'm pretty sure is going to start tonight."

Criticism of the ruling has not been confined to Democrats and immigrant advocates. Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine called the decision a "mistake," noting in a statement that "the situation in Haiti could hardly be much worse. The violent gangs run most of the country. The government barely functions. And the economy is in shambles." Republican House members Mike Lawler of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska similarly pushed for extensions of Haitian TPS protections.

The stakes extend well beyond Haitians and Syrians. Across 17 countries, some 1.7 million people currently hold TPS, and immigration advocates fear the administration may use this ruling as a springboard to unwind the program — established in 1990 — more broadly.

Informational content only, not legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney.