The U.S. Supreme Court appeared poised Wednesday to uphold the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians, based on arguments heard April 29. The outcome could also shape the fate of several related lawsuits pending in lower courts that challenge the administration's procedures for ending country-specific TPS designations.

The Trump administration has so far ended TPS designations for 13 of the 17 countries that held active status when President Donald Trump took office, raising deportation risks for more than one million immigrants nationwide. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, arguing for the administration, told the court that federal judges lack authority under law to review executive branch decisions to end or extend TPS. "They challenge the very kind of foreign policy-laden judgments that are traditionally entrusted to the political branches," Sauer said.

Attorneys representing the affected immigrants pushed back. Ahilan Arulanantham, representing Syrian TPS holders, and Geoffrey Pipoly, representing Haitians, argued that their clients have legal grounds to challenge the administration's actions in court. The justices' questions and comments during oral argument suggested a majority may side with the government's position that such decisions are not subject to judicial review.

A ruling in the case would carry broad implications for Montana residents with family or community ties to affected immigrant populations, as well as for the ongoing legal landscape surrounding federal immigration enforcement authority.