Former television host Megyn Kelly celebrated a June 2024 Supreme Court ruling that allows the U.S. government to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians.
The decision is significant because it removes legal protections for a large population of immigrants, potentially exposing them to deportation proceedings.
The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the administration to terminate the TPS program for immigrants from Haiti and Syria [1, 2]. This action follows a directive from former President Donald Trump to end the program, based on the administration's argument that conditions in Haiti no longer warranted the protection [1, 2].
During a broadcast, Kelly said, "Go back to f***ing Haiti!" [2]. The comments followed reports that the ruling would put a significant number of people at risk of removal from the U.S. [1].
Data indicates that 356,000 Haitians with TPS could face deportation as a result of the status termination [1]. Other reports estimate the number of affected individuals to be over 300,000 [2].
TPS is designed to provide temporary legal stay to foreign nationals whose home countries are deemed unsafe due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. The Trump administration challenged the necessity of these protections for Haitian nationals, a move the high court ultimately supported [1, 2].
“"Go back to f***ing Haiti!"”
The Supreme Court's decision underscores a judicial shift toward granting the executive branch broader authority to terminate discretionary immigration programs. By removing the TPS shield, the ruling transforms the legal status of hundreds of thousands of residents, shifting them from protected status to a state of legal vulnerability where deportation becomes a viable administrative action.
