Ending months of uncertainty, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 25, 2026 ruled in favor of the Trump administration in a 6-3 decision in Mullin v. Doe et al, the consolidated cases challenging the administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian nationals. Justice Alito, writing for the majority, held that federal law generally bars judicial review of TPS designation and termination decisions, and rejected arguments that Haiti’s termination was unconstitutionally motivated by racial animus.  We expect the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue implementation guidance on work authorization, document validity, and compliance timing for the roughly 350,000 Haitian and 6,000 Syrian nationals with TPS protections who are affected by the decision.

What It Means for Providers

LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan called the ruling a direct threat to the delivery of much-needed care and services:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision to end temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants puts older adults and the providers who care for them in an untenable position,” said Sloan. “Staff and caregivers who support older adults every day—legal employees who in some of our communities represent 8% or more of the entire workforce—can now lose their jobs overnight.”

For a sector already strained by chronic workforce shortages, the loss of even a fraction of existing employees could force immediate operational decisions with direct consequences for residents and patients. Providers may have no choice but to limit nursing home admissions, close units, or turn away requests for home health and home care services.

The Broader Picture

Some protections remain in place, for now. TPS designations for El Salvador (through September 2026), Sudan, Ukraine, and Lebanon remain active. Court-ordered stays protecting holders from Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Burma are still in effect — but today’s ruling significantly weakens the legal foundation on which those stays rest. By holding that TPS termination decisions are largely unreviewable by the courts, the Supreme Court has removed the primary legal backstop on which advocates and providers had relied to protect TPS holders across the board. Up to 1.3 million TPS holders are now at risk.

The Need for Legislation

With this decision, the legislative path becomes the most viable remaining option—and the most urgent. The House took a meaningful step in April, passing H.R. 1689 by a bipartisan 224-204 vote to extend Haiti TPS through April 2029. The path for the companion bill in the Senate, S. 4814, however, is steep. The bill has 19 Democrat co-sponsors but no scheduled floor vote. Sixty votes are needed for it to advance, a threshold that requires significant Republican support that does not currently exist, and even if sufficient Senate support were to emerge, the President’s approval would be required for the legislation to become law.

Even so, LeadingAge calls on the Senate to act, and in such a manner that amplifies the severity of the issue facing aging services providers and the older American they serve. President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan continued: “Though there is no quick fix, we do have a Senate that can act. We urge the Senate to take up the House-passed Haiti TPS extension immediately, because the alternative is an unnecessary hobbling of our country’s care system—at a time when our population is aging rapidly and demand for care and services is growing.”

What to Watch Next

• DHS implementation guidance—establishing the operative departure deadline for affected Haitian and Syrian TPS holders. Providers should not reverify or alter I-9 records for affected employees, or take any action based on this decision, until DHS issues updated guidance.
• Senate action on H.R. 1689/S. 4814—whether and how quickly the Senate schedules a floor vote on the House-passed Haiti TPS extension.
• Downstream effects on other TPS countries—today’s ruling on judicial reviewability will be tested in pending litigation involving Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Somalia, and others.

LeadingAge will continue monitoring DHS guidance and congressional developments and will issue updates as the situation develops. Members may contact their Senators in support of S. 4814, and members with questions should contact Shane Myers, Associate Director for Immigration Advancement at Smyers@leadingage.org.