What employers should know about recent Supreme Court asylum, TPS rulings

On June 25, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two immigration decisions with practical consequences for asylum access, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and employer work authorization compliance. In Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the Court held that a person waiting on the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border hasn’t “arrived in the United States” for asylum and inspection purposes until crossing the border. In Mullin v. Doe, consolidated with Trump v. Miot, the Court reversed lower-court orders that had postponed termination of TPS for Syria and Haiti.

For employers, the most immediate issue is work authorization. Employees whose authorization is based on TPS for Haiti or Syria may be affected, but employers should rely on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), E-Verify, and Form I-9 guidance rather than news reports alone.

What the Court decided

Mullin v. Al Otro Lado addressed “metering,” a border-management practice under which Customs and Border Protection (CBP) limits how many people may enter a port of entry each day for inspection and possible asylum processing. The Court held that federal law doesn’t require inspection or asylum processing for a person who remains in Mexico and hasn’t crossed into the United States.