Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told migrants on temporary protected status to either apply for permanent residence or prepare to leave after a Supreme Court decision stripped humanitarian protections that cover hundreds of thousands of Haitian an
On the day the Supreme Court decision took away humanitarian protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants, Markwayne Mullin framed the next step as bluntly as paperwork.
“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 Homeland Security secretary said in remarks carried on CNN’s State of the Union program.
He added that the government would provide removal support: “We’ll actually give you a plane ticket, plus roughly $2,100 to help you re-establish when you get there.”
But Mullin insisted the point wasn’t temporary at all. “Temporary protective status, according to the courts and in its name itself, is not permanent status,” he said.
The remarks landed after Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling, described as stripping humanitarian protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants and setting up the possibility of deportations—specifically for Haitian and Syrian migrants—to countries facing conflict and destitution.
The pressure is immediate for people who have relied on temporary legal status under federal law. The law allows the administration to grant temporary legal residency in the United States to people fleeing war. disaster or other conditions. For Haitians, the program began after a devastating earthquake in 2010. For Syrians, it began after the country’s civil war escalated in 2012.
Now, the decision is set to affect an estimated 350,000 Haitian and 6,000 Syrian immigrants. With protections ending. the choice Mullin described—seek permanent status or leave—comes as advocates and courts’ decision reshape what happens next. including potential detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or deportation.
The Department of State currently warns against traveling to either Haiti or Syria, citing widespread violence, crime, terrorism and kidnapping—warnings that sit uneasily beside Mullin’s offer of tickets and money to restart lives elsewhere.
In Springfield, Ohio, the fear is not theoretical. Haitian residents and advocates have spoken openly about what ending TPS will mean for a community they say has held on to jobs and ordinary routines for years.
Franky Pierre. a Haitian immigrant who came to the United States with his family during the 1991 military coup to overthrow then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. described the change in stark local terms. “For Springfield, it’s going to hurt. When I came here, this area was dead. In this plaza, there are 1782689646 seven Haitian businesses,” Pierre told the Guardian on Thursday after the decision.
He said the disruption could start immediately. “All of these people are going to have to run away or go somewhere, which I’m pretty sure is going to start tonight,” Pierre added, referring to TPS holders.
The anger in Springfield is tied to more than immigration policy. During the 2024 election, Trump falsely accused Haitians living in the town of eating others’ household pets. Those repeated insults, residents said, resulted in bomb threats and white supremacist marches in the city.
Even as Republicans criticized the court’s move. the political fight is now colliding with the day-to-day risk of losing protections. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called Thursday’s ruling a “mistake,” saying, “The situation in Haiti could hardly be much worse. The violent gangs run most of the country. The government barely functions,” and adding, “And the economy is in shambles.”.
Other Republican congressmen—Mike Lawler of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska—also criticized the decision and argued for TPS extensions for Haitian immigrants.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority, however, found Haitians suing the administration were unlikely to succeed in their argument that the administration’s actions were racially biased.
That legal conclusion, for many in affected communities, does not soften the practical consequences. In total, 1.7 million people from 17 countries have temporary protected status.
Immigration advocates have warned that if the Trump administration can target TPS, it could extend beyond Haitians and Syrians—effectively ending the 1990 program for other groups who rely on it.
TPS temporary protected status Supreme Court decision Haitian immigrants Syrian immigrants Markwayne Mullin ICE detention deportation Springfield Ohio immigration advocates
So they’re basically just forcing paperwork then saying bye?
I mean $2100 and a plane ticket sounds humane?? but it also feels like a threat. If their TPS just got taken, how are they supposed to even decide that fast.
Why does he keep calling it not permanent like the whole point was to protect people from deportation. I saw somewhere that Haitians are being deported immediately like tomorrow, which is probably not true but idk anymore. Also Supreme Court rulings always swing hard and nobody’s ready for it.
This is the kind of stuff that makes me mad. They say “choose permanent” but permanent to who? Like they gonna approve everybody’s case? And if they don’t, then they’re all just getting picked up by ICE, right? I swear every time the country says humanitarian protections, it means temporary… until it doesn’t. The Haitian earthquake part is tragic, not like these people just decided to come for fun.