The United States will no longer accept any new asylum applications, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters on Thursday, declaring that “America’s doors are completely closed” to those seeking refuge. The announcement follows two Supreme Court rulings that grant the administration broad authority to dismantle the existing asylum and temporary protection system. The first decision permits the government to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians and Haitians, while the second reinstates a policy of “metering” that limits the number of migrants who may lodge asylum claims at official ports of entry along the US-Mexico border.

Viewed from Washington, the measures represent a decisive step in President Donald Trump’s campaign to curtail legal and irregular immigration. Miller described all asylum requests at the south-western border as “always fake,” characterising applicants as criminals, economic migrants seeking benefits, or individuals attempting family reunification. He stated that the administration had reached a “simple, elegant and complete solution”: any person seeking asylum would be directed to another country willing to accept them. The Supreme Court rulings, according to administration officials, provide the legal foundation to deport hundreds of thousands of people who had previously been shielded from return to countries affected by war or natural disaster.

The decisions carry immediate consequences for an estimated 1.3 million individuals from 17 nations who currently hold TPS, including roughly 350,000 Haitians and more than 6,000 Syrians. Many have lived and worked legally in the US for years. The White House urged Haitian nationals to return home voluntarily. Human rights organisations, as reported by Radio Liberty, warned that the restrictions could drive a rise in irregular border crossings and increase the risk of migrant deaths as people seek to bypass official checkpoints. In Congress, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, called the administration’s recent steps “puzzling” and “politically motivated,” though public opinion in the US broadly supports stricter immigration enforcement.

The asylum clampdown is the latest in a series of executive actions since Trump’s return to office in January 2025. The administration has already suspended refugee admissions, intensified vetting for green cards, sought to end birthright citizenship, and empowered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct mass deportations. The Supreme Court’s rulings are expected to influence pending litigation over TPS designations for other nationalities, including Venezuelans. The White House has signalled that it will continue to pursue bilateral agreements with third countries to receive deported migrants, a policy that is likely to face further legal and diplomatic challenges in the coming months.