A federal court has blocked Temporary Protected Status (TPS) terminations for South Sudan, allowing beneficiaries to keep their legal work authorization and status, while courts have lifted previous halts on terminations for Haiti, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Ethiopia. A June 2026 Supreme Court decision in *Mullin v.
Doe* removed the primary legal tool TPS beneficiaries had relied on to challenge terminations, ending injunctions for most countries but leaving South Sudan protected under an earlier court order that remains in effect. The shift means most TPS beneficiaries lost status and work authorization this summer, while South Sudan's smaller population retained protections. This outcome reflects how a single Supreme Court ruling reversed years of judicial safeguards and left one country as an outlier in the ongoing wave of terminations.
Table of Contents
- The Supreme Court Decision Changed Everything
- Which Countries Lost TPS and Which Remain Protected
- What TPS Loss Means for Beneficiaries
- Why South Sudan Remains an Outlier
- What Beneficiaries Can Do Now
The Supreme Court Decision Changed Everything
On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in *Mullin v. Doe* that federal law bars courts from reviewing the Department of Homeland Security's decisions to terminate a country's TPS designation. The decision eliminated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenges—a legal mechanism that had allowed beneficiaries to challenge terminations in federal court.
Before this ruling, TPS beneficiaries had won temporary injunctions halting terminations for Haiti, Syria, and other countries. After the Supreme Court decision, the D.C. District Court confirmed on August 5, 2026, that its stay preventing Haiti's TPS termination "is no longer in effect," making those earlier legal victories unenforceable. Courts across the country issued similar rulings, lifting stays and allowing terminations to proceed.
Which Countries Lost TPS and Which Remain Protected
Following the Supreme Court decision, TPS designations for Haiti (effective July 27, 2026), Syria (July 27, 2026), Yemen (July 20, 2026), Somalia (August 14, 2026), Ethiopia (August 18, 2026), and Burma/Myanmar were terminated. Approximately 600,000 TPS beneficiaries across these countries lost their status and work authorization. South Sudan stands as the exception.
A federal court injunction issued December 30, 2025, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts stays the termination and allows beneficiaries to retain their status and employment authorization. This injunction predates the Supreme Court's *Mullin* decision and remains in effect, making South Sudan the only country currently protected from termination. El Salvador's TPS remains technically active but faces an imminent termination deadline; a Boston federal court on July 21, 2026, issued an emergency order temporarily blocking work authorization policy changes, though the designation itself continued toward termination.
What TPS Loss Means for Beneficiaries
TPS beneficiaries who lost status must navigate new restrictions immediately. Employment authorization cards (work permits) are no longer valid, meaning employers cannot legally hire or continue employing terminated beneficiaries. Those in the United States must apply for an alternative immigration status—such as asylum, U visas for crime victims, or a family-based green card—or risk deportation if immigration enforcement encounters them.
Beneficiaries of terminated TPS also lose the legal protection from deportation the status provided. Healthcare, driver's licenses, and state benefits tied to work authorization often become unavailable. The loss creates urgent practical barriers even for beneficiaries with no immigration violations and years of U.S. employment history.
Why South Sudan Remains an Outlier
South Sudan's TPS protection survived because the federal court injunction was issued before the Supreme Court's *Mullin v. Doe* decision, which eliminated the primary legal mechanism TPS beneficiaries had relied on—Administrative Procedure Act challenges—to block terminations, making South Sudan an exception rather than the rule. The earlier court order created an ongoing legal obligation separate from the APA challenges that the Supreme Court shut down.
The injunction's continued force depends on whether courts maintain it on appeal or if new legal challenges succeed. However, the Supreme Court's ruling makes future APA-based challenges unlikely to succeed, leaving South Sudan dependent on this specific court order rather than on the broader judicial review power that once protected most TPS beneficiaries.
What Beneficiaries Can Do Now
If you held TPS for a terminated country, act immediately: For beneficiaries of El Salvador's TPS, the situation remains fluid; consult an immigration attorney about the termination timeline and available options before status ends.
- Apply for asylum if you faced persecution in your home country based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a social group; you have up to one year from departure or loss of status to file.
- Explore family-based petitions if a U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative can sponsor you.
- Check whether you qualify as a victim of crime (U visa), human trafficking (T visa), or domestic violence (VAWA self-petition).
- If you are in South Sudan's TPS program, monitor court proceedings, as the injunction could be challenged or reversed.