Washington, DC – The United States Supreme Court has begun to hear a case on whether the administration of President Donald Trump may strip the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians living in the country.The hearing on Wednesday at the country’s highest court specifically concerns whether Trump may end “temporary protected status” (TPS) for citizens of the two countries, which is granted when it is deemed unsafe for individuals to return to their home countries.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBut the court’s eventual decision could have wide-ranging implications beyond the 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians living in the US under TPS. It could throw into jeopardy the future of about 1.3 million people from 17 countries currently living in the US on the status, opening the door to rendering them undocumented during the Trump administration’s mass deportation drive.Last year, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rescinded TPS for Haiti and Syria, saying it had been “abused and exploited” and conditions in the countries had improved since the status was first approved.Noem maintained that recent TPS extensions for Haiti, which was first granted the status in 2010, and Syria, which was granted the status in 2012, were not “justified or necessary”.Critics have pointed to ongoing political, humanitarian and security crises in Haiti and persistent instability in Syria, which has faced Israeli incursions and spurts of violence aft …
