A June 25 decision limits how much courts can second-guess DHS on Temporary Protected Status, leaving Ethiopian, Somali, and South Sudanese families in the region watching cases that once felt secure.
The Supreme Court has narrowed one of the last legal tools available to immigrants trying to keep their protection from deportation, a decision with outsized consequences for the Washington region’s African communities.
On June 25, 2026, the Court ruled in Mullin v. Doe, No. 25-1083, that federal courts have only limited authority to second-guess the Department of Homeland Security’s determinations on ending Temporary Protected Status, according to a case summary published by the American Immigration Council. The ruling allowed the administration to proceed with terminating TPS for Haiti and Syria, reversing lower court injunctions that had kept those designations alive while litigation continued.
The decision does not, by itself, end protections for any African country. But it reshapes the legal terrain for three cases that matter directly to the DMV: Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan, all currently shielded from termination by federal court orders that now look considerably more fragile.
Cameroon’s TPS, for context, already ended. The Department of Homeland Security announced in April 2025 that it would terminate protections for Cameroon and Afghanistan together, affecting more than 17,000 people nationwide, according to a fact sheet from the National Immigration Forum. Cameroon’s designation lapsed on August 4, 2025. For the DMV’s Cameroonian community, one of the largest in the United States, that loss of work authorization is now more than a year old. This ruling does not reopen that door. It closes others.
What is still holding, and why it may not last
Three African country designations remain active in the DMV’s orbit specifically because of ongoing litigation in African Communities Together v. Noem, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Ethiopia’s TPS, which DHS moved to terminate in December 2025 in a decision affecting roughly 5,000 people, remains in place after a federal judge stayed the termination on January 30, 2026, according to USCIS. South Sudan’s designation has been protected by a stay since December 30, 2025, after DHS had set a January 5, 2026 termination date. Somalia’s TPS, covering about 700 people, was paused by a federal judge on March 13, 2026, months after DHS announced its termination that January.
None of those numbers approach the scale of Cameroon’s 2025 loss, but the Supreme Court’s reasoning in the Haiti and Syria cases is the part that worries advocates most. The Court found that DHS’s underlying country-conditions determinations are largely shielded from judicial review, which is the exact argument the government would likely make if it appealed the Ethiopian, Somali, or South Sudanese stays. Attorneys following the litigation say the practical takeaway is that a currently active stay is not the same thing as a guarantee.
A region built by the communities this affects
Washington, Maryland, and Virginia hold one of the highest concentrations of African-born residents of any metropolitan area in the country, with immigrant communities long established in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, as well as Northern Virginia and the District itself, according to the Population Reference Bureau. For families whose work authorization runs through TPS, the legal fine print in a Supreme Court opinion translates directly into whether a nursing assistant keeps her job, whether a small business owner can renew a lease, or whether a household stays intact.
Community organizations, including African Communities Together, which operates a DC, Maryland, and Virginia chapter and is a named plaintiff in the Massachusetts litigation, continue to provide legal referrals and organizing support. For anyone currently covered by TPS from Ethiopia, Somalia, or South Sudan, or anyone affected by Cameroon’s termination last year, the standing advice from immigration attorneys has not changed: individual circumstances vary widely, and a licensed immigration attorney is the only reliable source for case-specific guidance.
FAQ
Did the Supreme Court end TPS for an African country? Not directly. The June 25, 2026 ruling in Mullin v. Doe addressed Haiti and Syria. Its broader legal reasoning, however, weakens the position of pending African TPS cases, including Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan.
Is TPS for Cameroon affected by this ruling? No. TPS for Cameroon ended on August 4, 2025, well before this decision. That termination is not part of the current litigation this ruling touches.
What should someone with active TPS do right now? Court stays for Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan remain in effect for now. Anyone covered by these or any other TPS designation should consult a licensed immigration attorney to understand how this ruling could affect their individual case.