As we reported back in June, the Supreme Court dramatically narrowed the scope of litigation over Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for aliens.
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued its decision in Mullin v. Doe, holding that most non-constitutional (i.e., statutory) challenges to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) terminations cannot even be heard by federal courts. Additionally, the Court held that the constitutional claim, that the decision to terminate TPS status for Haiti was based on racial discrimination, "will likely fail." This constitutes a major win for the Trump administration in the immigration arena and will have significant implications for TPS going forward.
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In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court reversed lower court rulings that had blocked the Trump administration from terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Syria and Haiti. The Court held that the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) largely bars federal courts from reviewing the Secretary of Homeland Security's decisions to designate, extend, or terminate TPS, foreclosing most of the plaintiffs' Administrative Procedure Act claims.
While the ruling was significant, it did not fully foreclose every possible challenge to TPS termination.
So now we've had multiple different district court judges addressing the remaining claims in the litigation over which they're presiding — resulting in markedly different outcomes.
On Wednesday, D.C. District Judge Ana Reyes took the very straightforward approach, acknowledging that Mullin was controlling in her case and thus dissolving her earlier postponement of TPS termination for Haitians.
🚨 A federal judge says the court order blocking the Trump administration from ending Haiti's Temporary Protected Status is no longer in effect after the Supreme Court's ruling in Mullin v. Doe. The lawsuit will continue, but the administration can move forward with ending TPS. pic.twitter.com/lhlUczG6ft
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) August 5, 2026
But Reyes' decision followed a Tuesday ruling from Massachusetts District Judge Allison Burroughs, which took a significantly different approach. While Burroughs recognized that Mullin dispensed with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) claims, she pointed to the remaining constitutional claims, which are unresolved, and entered an order preserving the status quo (i.e., continuing the postponement of TPS termination as to Somalis) and requesting additional briefing from the parties.
🚨 A federal judge defended her administrative stay blocking the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis, citing risks of violence, family separation, and the need for careful review, calling it "shameful cruelty" to oppose a wind-down period. pic.twitter.com/esbFQerx5I
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) August 4, 2026
Then, on Friday, Massachusetts District Judge Patti Saris parted ways with her colleague and rejected two new theories posited by plaintiffs in her case (regarding TPS termination for South Sudan) post-Mullin:
- only the Attorney General — not the DHS Secretary — could terminate TPS;
- procedural due process.
Saris concluded that the statute in question gives the DHS Secretary the authority to terminate TPS and that the due-process claim simply repackages the APA arguments the Supreme Court already rejected.
🚨 A federal judge cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for South Sudan, ruling that immigrants could not revive their case with new statutory and constitutional claims after the Supreme Court's Mullin v. Doe decision. pic.twitter.com/OAxdJzTosb
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) August 7, 2026
But wait — there's more! While I was writing this article, we had some additional developments on the TPS front.
Termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is in effect for the following countries (+ Nicaragua).
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 7, 2026
Radical Left district court judges have enjoined termination of TPS for the bottom three countries.
REMINDER: "Temporary" is *literally* in the name. https://t.co/VrN2nJNV6O
We just got Burma TPS too. Thank you, Judge Kennelly! pic.twitter.com/OrosU7QBdr
— James Percival (@DHSGenCounsel) August 7, 2026
We now have Northern District of Illinois Judge Matthew Kennelly's ruling as to TPS termination for Burma — for now, the plaintiffs' claims as to racial discrimination/equal protection survive the administration's motion to dismiss, but unlike Judge Burroughs, Judge Kennelly declined to keep his postponement of TPS termination in place.
So where do things stand now? The post-Mullin picture is becoming clearer. District judges are increasingly agreeing that the Supreme Court shut the door on APA challenges to TPS terminations. Where they still differ is on what, if any, constitutional claims remain — and how far Mullin reaches beyond the preliminary injunction stage. Judge Reyes promptly dissolved her earlier postponement after concluding Mullin controlled. Judge Burroughs found enough uncertainty to pause the Somali termination temporarily. Judge Saris concluded the remaining constitutional theories failed. Judge Kennelly agreed that most of the plaintiffs' new theories could not survive Mullin, but allowed one race-discrimination claim to continue into discovery because of the different procedural posture (though that does not block the termination of TPS status).
The bottom line: This week's rulings suggest that Mullin didn't slam every courthouse door shut. But it did close the main entrance, leaving plaintiffs to see whether any side doors remain open — and so far, most judges have found very few.
Editor's Note: Unelected federal judges are hijacking President Trump's agenda and insulting the will of the people.
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