(New York, NY) – Today, seven Syrian nationals who have planted roots in the United States for years filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of New York challenging the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Muslim Advocates, and Van Der Hout LLP represent the plaintiffs, who are community members living all across the United States, including New York, Virginia, Florida, and Illinois. The TPS holders are family caretakers, doctors, students, teachers, business professionals, and others whose work and identities contribute to the rich fabric of our communities. Without court intervention, on November 21, 2025, more than 6,100 Syrians could lose their legal status and work authorization and could be forced to relocate to Syria – a country ravaged and still reeling from nearly 14 years of civil war.

 

Syria was first designated for TPS in 2012 in recognition of the danger Syrians would face if forced to return to the country’s civil war. While the Assad regime fell in December 2024, the U.S. government’s own analysis shows that armed conflict, violence, and a severe humanitarian crisis persist, making it unsafe for Syrian nationals to return. Several of the plaintiffs fled Syria to the United States for safety over a decade ago and are now facing the risk of returning to the grave danger and instability that TPS was designed to protect against. Others have never even lived in Syria and would be forcibly separated from their family members in the U.S., including young U.S. citizen children, parents, grandparents, and siblings.

 

The Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Syria follows similar efforts to strip TPS status from hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Venezuela earlier this year. President Trump previously tried and failed to end TPS during his first administration, and multiple administration members have made comments condemning TPS. It’s clear that the overhauling of the TPS program is driven by anti-immigrant sentiments about who deserves safety, belonging, and protection in the U.S. – with non-white and Muslim immigrants bearing the brunt of these discriminatory immigration policies. 

 

“Through Temporary Protected Status, I’ve been able to pay it forward by serving and working with vulnerable communities in the U.S.,” said plaintiff Mustafa Doe from New York. “But the crisis in Syria is far from over. The U.S. itself warns against travel there because of ongoing violence and instability. Ending TPS now would send people like me back into danger for no reason other than anti-immigrant policies. TPS is not a loophole—it’s a promise that America will not turn its back on those who have nowhere safe to go.”

 

The following are quotes from co-counsel and community advocates:

 

“Terminating TPS for thousands of Syrians is part of a broader campaign to kick immigrants of color out of this country, regardless of the law or whether it is safe for them to return to their countries of origin,” said Lupe Aguirre, Senior Litigation Attorney at IRAP. “This was a decision determined by politics and animus, not facts, and was driven by the Trump administration’s desire to strip legal status from non-white and Muslim immigrants and rip them from the communities where they have lived for years.”

 

“It is galling that the current administration is forcing families to pack up a lifetime in the U.S. in less than two months and into a dire humanitarian crisis in Syria,” said Sadaf Hasan, Staff Attorney at Muslim Advocates. “This is exactly what systemic anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism looks like – to dehumanize and deliberately ignore the safety of the very people the TPS program was designed to protect. The government’s decision to dismantle the overall TPS program for non-white beneficiaries with little to no notice is the latest in the administration’s white nationalist and anti-immigrant agenda. We’re committed to fighting for the rule of law and dignity for the Syrian community and all TPS holders.”

 

“This is yet another example of the Trump administration’s racist and ethnocentric worldview in action,” said Johnny Sinodis, Partner at Van Der Hout LLP. “Intent on doing Trump’s exclusionist bidding, Noem continues to target non-white, non-European, and non-Christian immigrants in ways that reach new heights of hatefulness and hypocrisy every day. The decision to terminate Syria’s TPS designation is completely untethered to the facts on the ground, which show that Syria remains the site of one of the most devastating humanitarian crises of the 21st century. A legitimate, objective review of conditions–which is what the law requires–could not have led to the end of TPS for 6,000 Syrians who deserve to live a life free of such peril. We look forward to challenging Trump and his cadre in court.”

 

“The decision to end TPS for Syrians comes far too soon. Syria remains deeply unstable, with cities destroyed, infrastructure in ruins, and parts of the country still under armed conflict,” said Farrah AlKhorfan, co-founder of Immigrants Act Now. “Many Syrians on TPS have U.S. born children, own homes, and run businesses—they have built their lives here. The termination notice was issued less than ten days before TPS for Syria was set to expire, falling short of the 60-day statutory notice period required under federal law. This abrupt timing caused widespread confusion and distress among Syrian TPS holders. At the very least, more time and clarity should have been provided to ensure fairness, compliance, and stability for affected families.”

 

Resources:

 

Read the complaint: HERE

 

The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global legal aid and advocacy organization working to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. Everyone should have a safe place to live and a safe way to get there.

 

https://refugeerights.org

 

Muslim Advocates (MA) is a social-justice and legal advocacy organization that works with and for Muslim and other marginalized communities in the U.S. to build community power, dismantle systemic discrimination, and demand shared wellbeing.

 

https://muslimadvocates.org

 

Founded in 1980 by attorney Marc Van Der Hout, the firm of Van Der Hout LLP has grown to become a nationally-recognized, full-service immigration law firm. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, we represent individuals, families, and employers across the country and around the globe in an extensive range of immigration and visa matters. 

 

https://vblaw.com