McClellan Statement on Supreme Court Decisions on Temporary Protected Status and Immigration at the Border

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) issued the following statement after the Supreme Court released two decisions permitting the Trump Administration to both expel Haitian and Syrian migrants with temporary protected status (TPS) from the country and to turn away others at the southern border:

“For over 400 years, people have come to America seeking sanctuary from religious persecution, violence and instability in their home countries. Today, the Supreme Court handed the Trump Administration the ability to turn its back on those seeking to do the same by blocking asylum seekers at the border and ending TPS for Haitians and Syrians living and working legally in this country. 

“I represent a district filled with vibrant immigrant communities and know firsthand the value they add to our local economies, cultures and traditions. With these decisions, the Trump-packed Supreme Court enables the Administration to continue its relentless mass detention and deportation agenda that tears families apart and undermines the foundational principles of our country.

“Since the start of this Administration, I have been a vocal critic of its cruel policies targeting immigrants. I will continue to fight and speak up for our immigrant communities as they face an unprecedented wave of attacks from this Administration and those that have rubberstamped its aggressive campaign to take away the things and people that make our nation so great.”

Since the start of the second Trump Administration, McClellan has stood up for immigrant communities by voting against additional funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol, voting to extend Haiti’s TPS designation by three years, voting against anti-immigrant legislation like the Laken Riley Act and more. When ICE agents began appearing at courthouses and other public spaces in Chesterfield County, she visited the Chesterfield Courthouse to meet with local officials, attorneys and advocates and introduced the DHS Wrongful Detention and Deportation Accountability Act to require the Department of Homeland Security to track and report all instances in which a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is detained or deported.