Nearly 4,000 Yemenis will be affected by the U.S. decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen, a Yemeni official said.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the Trump administration has terminated TPS for Yemen. “After reviewing country conditions and consulting with the appropriate U.S. government agencies, I determined that Yemen no longer meets the statutory requirements for its TPS designation,” she said.
Mustafa Ahmad Noman, Yemen’s deputy minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, told Xinhua that the decision “was not surprising in light of the U.S. administration’s policy of deporting immigrants living in the United States, whether legal or illegal.” He added that those affected “can pursue legal avenues, as other Arab and non-Arab communities have done and succeeded in delaying it,” noting that the Yemeni embassy in Washington continues to provide support and coordination.
The United States initially designated Yemen for TPS in September 2015, citing ongoing armed conflict and risks to personal safety for returnees. Noem emphasized that allowing TPS beneficiaries from Yemen to remain temporarily is “contrary to our national interest” and described TPS as a program intended to be temporary.
TPS beneficiaries without other legal grounds to remain in the U.S. will have 60 days to voluntarily depart. Once the termination takes effect, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may detain and deport any Yemeni citizen without legal status.
