Supreme Court rules against green cards for migrants with TPS

June 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that migrants under temporary protected status are not eligible for green cards if they entered the country illegally.

Justice Elena Kagan wrote for a unanimous court.

The case concerns Jose Santos Sanchez, a citizen of El Salvador who entered the United States unlawfully in 1997. In 2001, he was granted temporary protected status.

"The TPS program allows foreign nationals of a country designated by the government as having unusually bad or dangerous conditions to live and work in the U.S. while the conditions last," the decision read.

Kagan said the government designated El Salvador under the TPS program after a series of earthquakes devastated the nation. She went on to say that Sanchez obtained TPS that year and worked without legal authorization for more than two decades.

In 2014, Sanchez applied to obtain legal permanent resident status under Section 1255, which provides a "non-immigrant" a way to obtain an adjustment of status. A non-immigrant is a foreign national lawfully present in the United States on a temporary basis, according to the ruling.

"The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services determined Sanchez ineligible for LPR status because he entered the United States unlawfully," the ruling stated. "A grant of TPS does not cure a foreign national's entry without inspection or constitute an inspection and admission of the foreign national."

Sanchez challenged the decision in U.S. District Court in 2018, stating that TPS recipients were considered having "lawful status as a non-immigrant" and should be treated "as though they had been inspected."

The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the ruling in 2020, holding that "a grant of TPS does not constitute an 'admission' into the United States."

"We now affirm the Third Circuit's decision that he cannot" become a legal permanent resident, the ruling statesd.

The Department of Homeland Security states that TPS is a "temporary benefit that does not lead to lawful permanent resident status or give any other immigration status." It also says registration for TPS doesn't prevent individuals from applying for non-immigrant status, or applying for any other immigration benefit for which they may be eligible.

Twelve countries are designated for TPS, including El Salvador. In March, the United States offered Venezuelans TPS in response to the humanitarian crisis in the country until September 2022.