Nina Totenberg

Lawyers for individuals from Haiti and Syria contend that the Trump administration has failed to comply with federal laws that mandate specific procedures before deporting people who've been vetted and qualified as eligible to remain in the U.S.

In the Haitian case, for instance, they point to then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's finding that even if Haiti is unsafe for people to return to,

They cannot stay in the U.S.

because it is, quote, contrary to the national interest.

Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

It allows eligible individuals to live and work in the United States if they cannot return to their own countries because of natural disasters, armed conflicts, and other, quote, extraordinary or temporary conditions.

Congress enacted the law to establish criteria for selecting, processing, and registering people fleeing such turmoil.

And since then, every president, Republican or Democrat, has embraced the program except President Trump.

He's trying to get rid of it.

And today, two countries are the test cases.

Haiti, where a devastating earthquake killed over 300,000 people in 2010.

I know.

leaving to this day roving gangs, cholera epidemics, and no functioning government, and Syria, where a relatively small group of 7,000 has been granted protected status because of civil war and Israeli bombing attacks.

President Trump, of course, has never made any secret of his views on these countries, and here he is speaking to a crowd last year and using vulgarity.

It applies only to people who have lived legally and continuously in the U.S.

since their home country's most recent TPS designation.

They're eligible to remain here, but under very strict criteria.

Ahilan Arulanantham represents the Syrians in the case.

In addition, people with TPS status have to renew every 18 months and go through the process all over again.

The Trump administration, however, contends that none of this matters because under the 1990 TPS statute, none of these judgments is subject to review by the courts at all.