The United States has terminated Temporary Protected Status for nationals of Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan, according to notices posted on the website of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, marking the latest in a series of rollbacks to the humanitarian immigration program under President Donald Trump.
The termination for Somalia took effect August 14, while South Sudan’s designation ended August 7, with the other two African countries having had their protections lifted earlier. The program allows eligible nationals of countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to remain and work legally in the United States, though it does not offer a path to permanent residency or citizenship.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem determined that country conditions in the affected nations no longer met the legal threshold required to justify continued protection, according to USCIS. Somalia had held TPS designation since 1991, following the collapse of state institutions there, while South Sudan and Ethiopia had been designated in response to prolonged conflict and instability.
The four African countries are among 12 nations that have had TPS designations terminated during Trump’s second term, a group that also includes Haiti, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Myanmar, according to USCIS records. More than a million people are estimated to have lost protection across all affected countries combined, with Venezuelan and Haitian nationals accounting for the largest shares.
Several of the terminations, including those affecting Ethiopia, Honduras and Nepal, remain tied up in active litigation. A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Ethiopia’s termination in January, and legal challenges have similarly slowed or complicated proceedings for other countries. Advocacy groups have filed additional lawsuits contesting the terminations, including one specific to Somalia.
Nationals affected by the terminations who lack another form of legal status face the prospect of removal proceedings unless they secure asylum, permanent residency, or another lawful basis to remain in the country. The administration has also moved to limit the ability of some TPS holders to work legally even while court challenges to their status remain pending.
