Court’s TPS Decision Puts Workers and Families in Danger

The Minnesota AFL-CIO, the state’s federation of labor unions, joined the nation’s labor movement in strongly condemning today’s Supreme Court decision giving President Trump unprecedented power to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of workers, many who have built lives and families in the United States.

“The United States has long been a sanctuary for people facing persecution in their home countries. With today’s decision, people who literally depend on our nation to stay alive are now subject to an openly racist President’s whims,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham.

The decision immediately allows the Trump Administration to proceed with ending TPS and uprooting workers from Haiti and Syria, two countries with the US State Department’s highest risk warning. It will likely put people here under TPS from other countries at risk, including the roughly 6,000 in Minnesota who contributed $147 million to Minnesota’s economy in 2024 alone.

"Stripping temporary protected status from workers is cruel, short-sighted, and comes at a time when local industries and worksites are struggling to recover from disinvestment, targeted retributive actions, and the economic fallout of Operation Metro Surge,” said Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation President Chelsie Glaubitz Gabiou. “Let us be clear: This will not make us safer, but will instead weaken workplace protections, drive people away from family-supporting jobs, and impoverish neighbors who have been contributing to our communities for decades. As we have demonstrated, local unions will stand beside any directly impacted worker."

“Congress can act right now to reverse this dangerous precedent,” added Burnham. “We call on Minnesota’s delegation, especially House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, to protect TPS holders, stabilize our workforce, and create a pathway to citizenship.”