WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: June 26, 2026

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**SPEAKER_4** (0:58)
The Obamas say they hope the space will inspire people to build community and become more civically engaged. To my fellow Southsiders, use this campus to show off this place we call home.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:12)
How's it been having this new center in the community?

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (1:15)
The truth.

**SPEAKER_6** (1:18)
It's beautiful.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (1:20)
Hey Chicago, I'm SashaAnn Simons, and this is In the Loop.
It's Friday, and we're breaking down the biggest stories of the week in our Weekly News Recap. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signs an executive order establishing a dedicated Office of Gun Violence Reduction after violence during the holiday weekend. Thousands attend the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, and Chicago is suing Airbnb. Plus, the Supreme Court allows the end of temporary protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.

**SPEAKER_7** (1:56)
Temporary protected status, or TPS, was created by Congress decades ago.

**SPEAKER_8** (2:01)
The Supreme Court here today is clearing the way for the Trump administration to end the temporary protected status.

**SPEAKER_9** (2:07)
Haiti is in a point where, if there's ever a time that people were going to come to America to seek protection and asylum, it would be now.

**SPEAKER_6** (2:14)
Mass shootings like what happened over the weekend in Roseland are up nearly 20% from a year ago.

**SPEAKER_10** (2:20)
Chicago deserves better. It is time for our infrastructure to reflect the urgency of this crisis.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:27)
We'll get into those stories and much more. At the table to help me make sense of the week's news was Chicago Sun-Times reporter, Violet Miller, Maxwell Evans, who covers Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore for Block Club, Chicago, and Paris Schutz, political and investigative reporter for Nbc 5
We started our conversation by getting an update about TPS with Chicago Sun-Times immigration reporter, Alma Campos. Here's Alma.

**Alma Campos** (2:49)
TPS stands for temporary protected status.
Congress created it in 1990 for people already in the United States who cannot safely return home, because of war, natural disaster, or other extreme conditions. And it lets people live and work legally in the United States temporarily, but it is not a direct path to a green card or citizenship.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:10)
And how many countries are on the TPS list?

**Alma Campos** (3:13)
So the federal government has one current list, which is 12 countries, but broader counts include countries where protections were recently ended or are still tied up in court. Venezuelans have been the largest group of TPS holders, roughly 600,000 people, and the status has also been the subject of major legal fights.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:31)
So this ruling yesterday, I mean, is it impacting people from all of those countries?

**Alma Campos** (3:36)
No, this ruling directly affects people from Haiti and Syria, because those were the countries that issue in this case.
But advocates say it could matter for other TPS holders too, including Venezuelans who are the largest group. So the immediate impact is Haiti and Syria, but the legal signal is broader.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:55)
How many people in Illinois are going to be affected by this?

**Alma Campos** (4:00)
So in Illinois, more than 46,000 Haitians have TPS overall, and several hundred Syrians. This ruling directly affects Haitians and Syrians, and nationally, the ruling directly affects about 350,000 Haitians and about 600,000 Syrians.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (4:16)
That's a lot of people. Wow. And what are we hearing so far?
It's just been about 24 hours or so, but Illinois officials and advocates, are they weighing in so far on the ruling?

**Alma Campos** (4:28)
Yes. So Illinois officials and advocates are calling the ruling devastating. They say it could put hundreds of thousands of people at risk of losing work permits and protection from deportation, even though Haiti and Syria remain unsafe.
Congresswoman Delia Ramirez and Senator Dick Durbin are calling on Congress to act, meaning pass legislation that would give TPS holders a more permanent way to stay in the United States or create stronger protections before an administration can end TPS. And then Senator Tammy Duckworth also criticized TPS terminations more broadly, warning that they can force people back into dangerous conditions. And advocates say the ruling could destabilize families who have lived and worked legally in the US for years.