Democrats across the country are up in arms over the Supreme Court’s decision last week, in Mullin v Doe, which allows the Trump administration to follow through on its plans to send back hundreds of thousands of temporary refugees from Haiti and Syria.The debate over temporary protected status for refugees hinges on that first first word, "temporary," and it is reasonable for Americans, who bear the brunt of caring for these refugees, to ask what it actually means.For his part, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who appears to be the communist leader of the national Democratic Party these days, had this to say: "The Supreme Court just sparked one of the largest attacks on immigrants in modern American history.In one fell swoop, thousands of Haitians and Syrians now risk losing the right to live and work in the country they call home."SUPREME COURT'S LATEST IMMIGRATION RULING WILL CAUSE AMERICANS TO 'DIE AND SUFFER' ATTORNEY WARNSSetting aside the question of whether any of us could just suddenly call Gracie Mansion home and move in with Zo and Rama, what exactly does "home" mean here?New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a Ramadan Iftar hosted by his team at the New York Taxi Workers Association, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in New York.
(Angelina Katsanis / AP)What is vital to understand in thinking about these questions is the core difference between a refugee and an immigrant, and the very different impacts that these two groups have on the native populations they come to live with.For immigrants, the desire, and even need, to assimilate into American culture is paramount.After all, their children and grandchildren will be living here.
But for refugees, there is always the possibility they will return home, hence the word "temporary."HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP TO SHIELD HAITIANS FROM DEPORTATIONThe upshot of this temporary status, as I have seen on the ground in Springfield, Ohio, and in Minneapolis, are populations of thousands of Haitians and Somalis, r...