Tip Sheets

Supreme Court decision against TPS holders means Congress should act

The Supreme Court ruled this week that certain immigrants in temporary protected status (TPS) cannot get green cards in the United States.


Stephen Yale-Loehr

Professor of immigration law

Stephen Yale-Loehr, professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School and co-author of a leading 21-volume immigration law series, says the decision highlights the need for Congress to enact immigration reform legislation.

Yale-Loehr says: 

“The Supreme Court unanimously held today that recipients of TPS who entered the U.S. unlawfully cannot obtain a green card in the U.S. The decision affects many TPS holders from a dozen countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti. Overall, over 300,000 people have TPS status. Some TPS recipients, such as the plaintiff in this case, have been here for over 20 years.” 

“Today’s Supreme Court’s decision revolved around a technical distinction between ‘inspection’ and ‘admission’ in U.S. immigration law. The Court noted that Congress could fix the problem through legislation. Indeed, such a bill is pending in Congress.” 

“The decision highlights the need for Congress to enact immigration legislation to fix our broken immigration system.”

Shannon Gleeson

Professor of Labor Relations, Law & History

Shannon Gleeson, associate professor of labor relations, law and history at the Industrial and Labor Relations School, is an expert on temporary protected status and migrant rights. 

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