US Interior Secretary urges TPS immigrants to seek green cards or return home

Interior Secretary Markwayne Mullin told CNN that migrants protected under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program should either apply for permanent residency (a green card) or be assisted to depart the United States. He said the administration will help with return flights and a $2,100 stipend for those who choose repatriation. Mullin emphasized that TPS is temporary by design and not a pathway to permanent residency.

His remarks follow a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows the Trump administration to terminate TPS for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian nationals, groups that have been granted TPS after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake and Syria’s 2012 civil war. The move has sparked political debate, with some officials warning of economic repercussions, especially in states like Ohio where Haitian workers are employed in caregiving roles.