Federal immigration officials have resumed deportation flights for individuals previously protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) following recent court rulings. A federal judge in Massachusetts lifted the final remaining stay earlier this week, which had specifically barred deportations to Ethiopia. This action followed a June Supreme Court ruling that found courts do not have the power to review the administration’s decision to terminate protections for citizens of Haiti and Syria.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now authorized to deport nationals from 13 countries that were previously designated for TPS due to natural disasters or civil unrest. These countries include Haiti, Syria, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Honduras, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, South Sudan, Burma, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Somalia. Four additional countries with TPS designations are expected to see those protections expire shortly.
On Thursday night, the Trump administration conducted its first deportation flight to Haiti since the protections ended. According to Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, the plane transported approximately 170 people to the northern coastal city of Cap-Haitien. The U.S. currently bars commercial flights into the capital, Port-au-Prince, due to gang violence and safety concerns for landing aircraft.
DHS lead attorney James Percival confirmed on social media that all TPS terminations are now in effect. Advocates, including Nayna Gupta of the American Immigration Council, stated that the lifting of these stays effectively signals the end of the program for the affected groups. While some lower court judges, such as U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, expressed that plaintiffs demonstrated "irreparable harm," they noted the Supreme Court decision restricted their ability to maintain the injunctions.
The scale of the removals involves significant federal resources and international cooperation. For countries that do not accept deportation flights, the U.S. has reached agreements to pay millions of dollars to third-party nations, such as Eswatini and Liberia, to accept the deportees. Those sent to these third countries may face confinement in prison-like settings upon arrival, according to advocacy groups. For the individual, the transition involves a sudden shift from legal residency to a status where 90 percent of alternative asylum claims are historically denied.
The policy sets a precedent regarding the executive branch's authority to terminate humanitarian protections without judicial oversight. Because the Supreme Court ruled that these decisions are not subject to court review, future administrations have broader latitude to end similar programs. The next steps for the remaining protectees involve the expiration dates of the final four designated countries, after which the total number of people eligible for deportation is expected to exceed the 1.3 million figure. Logistical challenges remain, however, in countries like Syria and Haiti, where the State Department maintains "Level 4 Do Not Travel" warnings due to ongoing conflict and gang control.