ImmDef Condemns Supreme Court Rulings that De-Legalize Hundreds of Thousands and Slam the Door on Asylum Seekers

ImmDef Communications
3 hours ago
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2026

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ImmDef Condemns Supreme Court Rulings that De-Legalize Hundreds of Thousands and Slam the Door on Asylum Seekers

ImmDef calls on Congress to protect TPS holders and Asylum Seekers

LOS ANGELES, CA - Today the Supreme Court released two devastating immigration opinions. In Mullin v. Doe, the Court gave the Trump administration sweeping authority to terminate lifesaving Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from Haiti and Syria despite ongoing violence, political collapse, and humanitarian disaster in both countries. In Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the Court revived the administration’s “turn back” strategy, restricting the right to seek asylum at the U.S.–Mexico border and eroding long‑standing protections under United States and international law. Through these two decisions, SCOTUS decimates the promise of safety that our Constitution demands, marking one of the most sweeping de‑legalization moments in modern history and disregarding our international humanitarian obligations. An estimated 350,000 Haitian people and 6,000 Syrians are now at risk of losing their promised protection within 32 days, facing imminent deportation into conditions the United Nations has described as catastrophic. Meanwhile, thousands of asylum seekers will languish in dangerous conditions.

In response, Lindsay Toczylowski, CEO and co-founder of Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) said, “ImmDef condemns today’s Supreme Court decisions and stands in solidarity with Haitian and Syrian TPS holders and their families, as well as with all those seeking protection from persecution at our borders. These decisions rip away legal status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian community members while slamming shut the path to asylum at our border for people fleeing for their lives. In doing so, they have dragged Thomas Paine’s vision of America as ‘an asylum for mankind’ through the mud. Despite the Court’s attempt to sanitize the administration’s actions, we reject outright the notion that ending TPS was “race‑neutral.” The administration’s rhetoric about Haitian immigrants is clearly rooted in racial animus, and this ruling legitimizes that blatant discrimination. We stand unequivocally with Black migrants and will continue to demand their right to equal protection and fair treatment under our Constitution. These rulings today put the lives of human beings at risk. No legal pretense and no claim of ‘neutrality’ can justify this institutionalized cruelty. Congress has the power to end this. It must act now to pass a permanent pathway to citizenship for TPS holders and create a statutory right for asylum seekers to vindicate their human right to access the asylum protection we have both a legal and moral obligation to provide.”

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The Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) is a next-generation social justice law firm that defends immigrant communities against injustices in the immigration system. Our programs are a first step towards realizing the long-term goal of providing universal representation to all immigrants facing deportation. ImmDef is now the largest non‐profit, pro bono provider of deportation defense in California, with offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Ana, and San Diego.