WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear arguments over the Trump administration’s push to end legal protections for people fleeing war and natural disaster from countries around the world, including Haiti and Syria.
The justices refused to immediately lift the protections for hundreds of thousands of people Monday, allowing them to live and work in the U.S. legally for now.
The court is expected to hear the case next month.
The conservative-majority
court previously allowed immigration authorities to end similar legal protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela as lawsuits continue to play out, exposing them to potential deportation.
The Trump administration filed emergency appeals after lower courts stopped the immediate end of temporary protected status for 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,000 people from Syria.
The Justice Department argued that the Department of Homeland Security has sole power to end the protections, which were originally designed to be temporary.
But immigration attorneys argued that both countries are still largely in crisis and people can't return safely.
A total of about 1.3 million people fleeing armed conflict and natural disasters around the world have been granted temporary protected status. The administration is asking the court for a broad ruling that would block courts from intervening when Homeland Security decides to end a designation.
Temporary protected status allows people to legally live and work in the U.S., though it does not provide a path to citizenship. Homeland Security has moved to terminate the program for people from multiple countries since Republican Donald Trump returned to the White House.
