The U.S. Supreme Court Greenlights TPS Terminations for Haiti and Syria — Immediate Employer Action Required

On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 6–3 decision in Mullin v. Doe. If your organization employs foreign nationals, this is not a case you can afford to ignore.

The Court’s decision cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to immediately end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian nationals. It also opened the door to rapid terminations for the eleven other countries where TPS has been cancelled during the current administration.

For employers, the clock is already ticking. TPS-based Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for Haitian and Syrian employees are set to expire July 1, 2026 — days away.

What This Means for Your Workforce

• EAD documentation complexity. Haitian employees may have EADs with printed expiration dates ranging as far back as 2017 — all extended through a patchwork of court orders and USCIS placeholder guidance. This complexity creates serious I-9 audit risk.
• Reverification obligations. Employers must reverify affected employees. Critically, a TPS-based EAD cannot be used for reverification. The affected employee must present an alternative qualifying document from the Form I-9 List of Acceptable Documents.
• Knowing-employment exposure. Continuing to employ a worker you know lacks valid work authorization carries civil penalties of up to $2,861 per I-9 paperwork violation, and up to $28,619 per worker for knowing-hire violations. ICE audit volume has increased 10x since 2025.
• Wrongful termination exposure. Prematurely terminating an employee who still holds valid work authorization can trigger a complaint with the Department of Justice, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (DOJ IER) — and the resulting fines could be enough to shutter the business for smaller employers.

This is the razor’s edge employers must walk — and it’s why now is the time for a formal I-9 audit conducted by qualified immigration counsel.

The historical error rate in audited I-9 forms is 76%. In the current enforcement environment, that is simply not an acceptable risk.

Recommended Action

If you have questions about your organization’s I-9 compliance posture in light of this decision, please reach out. This is exactly the moment when immigration counsel adds the most value.

Contact us for assistance with I-9 audits and TPS-related compliance reviews.

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