Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has ended Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopian nationals, citing improved conditions and warning that those without legal status must depart or face enforcement.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security announced Dec. 12 that it is terminating Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopian nationals living in the United States, marking another step in the Trump administration’s broader rollback of temporary immigration protections.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered the termination following a review of conditions in Ethiopia, which DHS said no longer meet the legal threshold required to justify continued TPS designation. The decision affects Ethiopians who have been allowed to remain in the United States temporarily under humanitarian protections.
Temporary Protected Status is a congressionally created program that allows nationals of designated countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances to stay in the United States and obtain work authorization. The designation does not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship and must be periodically reviewed by the DHS secretary.
In a statement released Dec. 12, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said conditions in Ethiopia no longer pose a serious threat to returning nationals. “Temporary Protected Status designations are time-limited and were never meant to be a ticket to permanent residency,” the agency said, adding that the designation is being terminated to “restore integrity” to the immigration system.
Under the decision, Ethiopian nationals who do not have another lawful basis to remain in the United States will be granted a 60-day transition period to depart voluntarily. DHS said that after Feb. 13, 2026, individuals without legal status may be subject to arrest and deportation.
The department encouraged affected individuals to report their departure using U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP Home mobile application. DHS said those who choose to self-deport may be eligible for a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and the possibility of pursuing legal immigration options in the future.
“If an alien forces DHS to arrest and remove them, they may never be allowed to return to the United States,” the department said.
The move is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reverse TPS expansions enacted under the Biden administration, which extended protections to hundreds of thousands of migrants from countries including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Haiti, and others. Trump administration officials have argued that the program has been overused and, in some cases, exploited in ways that encourage illegal immigration.
In recent months, DHS has also announced the termination of TPS for nationals of Haiti, Burma, South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. In several cases, the department said conditions in those countries no longer warranted special protections or that the program had been stretched beyond its original intent.
“We are returning integrity to the TPS system, which has been abused and exploited by illegal aliens for decades,” a DHS spokeswoman said in a February statement related to the termination of TPS for Haitians. “President Trump and Secretary Noem are returning TPS to its original status: temporary.”
Some efforts to revoke TPS designations have been challenged in federal court. Judges have temporarily blocked the administration from ending protections for certain groups, including Syrians and Haitians, citing procedural concerns. In contrast, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in October that the administration could proceed with ending TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.
Following that decision, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the ruling supported the administration’s approach, stating that Trump was restoring an immigration system intended to benefit U.S. citizens and operate within the law.
The TPS changes come amid expanded immigration enforcement during Trump’s second term. DHS said this week that more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants have left the United States since January, including approximately 1.9 million who voluntarily self-deported and more than 600,000 who were formally deported.
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