Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin defended the Trump administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian and Syrian migrants Sunday, arguing the program was never intended to provide permanent residency.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper pressed Mullin after the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in a 6-3 ruling Thursday allowing the Department of Homeland Security to terminate TPS protections for migrants from Haiti and Syria. Tapper asked whether the decision meant more than 350,000 people could now face deportation.
“First of all, Temporary Protective Status was never intended to be permanent,” Mullin responded.
“And there’s a lot of people that came over here 15, 20 years ago underneath TPS that’s already changed their status. The whole time these individuals have been here underneath the Temporary Protected Status, they could have applied for a visa. They could have applied for LPR. They could have applied for different directions. But the status itself can be ended in its name itself by saying ‘Temporary.’”
Mullin said affected migrants still have options.
“So, these individuals have a couple of choices: they can try to apply for a permanent residence here, they can apply for a temporary visa if they choose to, or they can choose to go back,” he said. “And if they want to go back, we will help them with that.”
Watch the clip below:
🚨 NEW: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin says the **350,000** Haitians in the US under TPS can apply for a visa or even permanent residence to potentially avoid deportation
These people had YEARS to apply.
DHS must officially revoke their TPS NOW. No slow walking this!
Per… pic.twitter.com/4T0tXoZGQI
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 28, 2026
Let me be ABUNDANTLY clear:
Temporary Protected Status is just that: TEMPORARY.
Democrats tried to turn this into a defacto amnesty program. President Trump put a STOP to it.
If you are in the country without status, you are here illegally. Illegal aliens have two choices —… https://t.co/v9CQ9alA5G
— Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) June 28, 2026
