The Trump administration recently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a decision by a federal judge in New York that delays the cessation of a program granting Syrian nationals temporary residency in the United States. This request, filed by U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, cites precedent in which similar lower court rulings related to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans were paused by the justices (read more).
The Temporary Protected Status program was instituted in 1990, permitting the Department of Homeland Security to allow citizens from certain countries to stay in the U.S. temporarily due to armed conflict, natural disaster, or other urgent conditions. Syria was granted TPS in 2012, amid civil unrest under President Bashar al-Assad. However, in September 2025, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of Syria’s TPS designation, justifying it as being in the national interest despite the ongoing conditions (source).
Challenging this termination in court, Syrian nationals argued that the Secretary’s decision violated procedural laws, claiming it was made without consulting relevant executive agencies and was partially motivated by bias. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla’s ruling halted the TPS termination (details). Following a rejected request by the government to suspend Failla’s decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit emphasized differences in circumstances and merits from previously stayed decisions by the Supreme Court (court order).
The Trump administration contends that Noem’s TPS termination for Syrians parallels its actions with other nations, opposing judicial intervention in executive decision-making on national security. Solicitor General Sauer has urged the Supreme Court to consider this matter immediately, to address what he perceives as continual lower court overreach against the administration’s efforts. The challengers in the case are required to respond to the Supreme Court by March 5, setting the stage for a critical decision on the administrative latitude in TPS designations (more information).