Democrats slammed Trump, GOP. SCOTUS after a ruling stripped Temporary Protective (TPS) status for thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants. (Credit: Nicholas Ballasy for Fox News Digital)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,D-N.Y., accused President Donald Trump of a "betrayal" after the Supreme Court handed his administration a pair of immigration wins involving Temporary Protected Status. asylum claims.
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to endTemporary Protected Status,or TPS, for Haitian. Syrian migrants, clearing the way for the administration to remove legal protections that have allowed many Haitians to remain and work in the U.S. since Haiti’s 2010 earthquake and many Syrians since the country’s civil war prompted a TPS designation in 2012.
Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Digital the TPS decision targets the very people Trump supporters were told would not be the focus of his aggressive immigration deportation agenda.
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"I think it's really sad. these decisions are targeting exactly the kind of people that Republican voters said that they did not want targeted in the Trump administration's immigration policy," Ocasio-Cortez said.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) speaks to members of the media as she arrives for the last votes of the week at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 21, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
She argued the ruling marked "a reversal of President Trump's promise to only go after, quote unquote, criminals and rapists."
"This decision to overturn TPS targets nurses. it targets health care workers, it targets domestic workers, cleaners, people who work in restaurants," she said, calling it "a real betrayal of President Trump's promise."
Ocasio-Cortez also argued the ruling would hurt U.S. citizens by raising prices, making it harder to find workers, while also breaking up longstanding communities.
House Democratic CaucusChair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., criticized Trump. Republicans over the asylum ruling, saying the president has "time and time again" attacked a process that has been part of U.S. law for decades.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.(Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
"People are fleeing terrible conditions, and they have a lawful right to declare asylum," Aguilar said.
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"Temporary Protected Status was always meant to be temporary," White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jacksonsaid on Thursday."It was never meant to be a pathway to permanent status or citizenship..our asylum system, for years, has been abused. exploited by bad actors..this ruling is a step in the right direction towards clearing up our asylum system and making sure that people can't enter our country who shouldn't be here — and that people who are here, who shouldn't be here, should be deported."
Asked what Democrats’ next step would be on TPS. Aguilar pointed tolegislationhe said Democrats forced through the House by discharge petition.
"Democrats led legislation in order to bring certainty to that. It's sitting over in theSenate," Aguilar said. "We forced a discharge petition, and were successful because we believe in governing."
Aguilar appeared to be referring to House-passedlegislation aimed at extending TPSprotections for Haitians.
Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., said he had not yet read the full decisions. was "beyond the point of being surprised by almost any decision that comes out of court."
Congressman Shomari Figures. D-Ala., speaks at a press conference on healthcare with other members of the House Democratic caucus in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 12, 2025.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Figures defended TPS for Haiti, citing natural disasters, political instability and violence.
"There's not a country. I think TPS is designed at its core that's more deserving of that than the situations we currently see in Haiti," Figures said.
Alec Schemmel is a Politics Reporter for Fox News Digital who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. now resides in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore Metro Area.
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