The US Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that the Trump administration may strip Temporary Protected Status from Haitian and Syrian nationals, clearing the path to remove hundreds of thousands of migrants who have lived in the country for years. The decision came alongside a second ruling giving the administration authority to block most asylum seekers at the border.

Both rulings handed President Trump significant wins on immigration in the same week, and demographers said Friday that the combined effect on America’s population could be severe and long-lasting.

Demographers Say the Timing Could Not Be Worse for the US Workforce

The United States was already heading toward population stagnation before these rulings. Birth rates have been falling for years, and immigration had been one of the few reliable sources of demographic growth keeping the workforce from shrinking.

NPR reported that experts warned the decisions, stacked on top of record-low birth rates and a collapse in legal migration, could age the nation faster and shrink its labor pool significantly. States that have no natural population growth rely almost entirely on newcomers for any workforce expansion.

Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska were cited as examples of inland states where immigrant workers have kept local economies functioning, particularly in agriculture, meatpacking, and construction.

TPS Recipients Have Deep Roots in American Communities

Haitians and Syrians currently holding TPS status have in many cases been in the United States for a decade or more. TPS was granted as a temporary humanitarian measure after natural disasters and armed conflict made safe return impossible.

The American Immigration Council called the rulings a sharp departure from decades of practice. The administration has not announced a specific timeline for enforcement following the TPS ruling.

The Second Ruling Seals the Border to Most Asylum Seekers

The asylum ruling effectively bars most migrants from even presenting a claim at the US border. Washington Post analysis noted that together the two rulings give the administration more immigration enforcement power than any president has held in recent memory.

The Supreme Court has spoken, and the demographic consequences are now a matter of policy choice rather than legal outcome.