The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of temporary protected status for Ethiopia.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed the end of the temporary protected status for Ethiopians.
Noem explained the decision was taken after the U.S government discovered conditions in Ethiopia no longer met the statutory requirements for the special humanitarian protection.
The termination of the temporary protected status for Ethiopians is effective on February 13, 2026, triggering a 60-day wind-down period for beneficiaries to seek other legal avenues to remain in the country or prepare for departure.
“After reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate US government agencies, the secretary determined that Ethiopia no longer continues to meet the conditions for the designation for Temporary Protected Status,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a notice posted in the Federal Register.
The DHS in the notice further noted: “Ethiopian nationals with no other lawful basis for remaining in the United States have 60 days to voluntarily depart the United States. We encourage aliens leaving the United States to use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP Home Mobile App to report their departure from the United States. This is a safe, secure way to self-deport that includes a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and potential future opportunities for legal immigration.
“After Feb. 13, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security may arrest and deport any Ethiopian national without status after their TPS has been terminated. If an alien forces DHS to arrest and remove them, they may never be allowed to return to the United States.”
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that temporary protected status is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict, or other extraordinary event. It provides eligible migrants with work authorization and temporary protection from deportation.
The program was created in 1991, and under Donald Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, it was extended to cover about 600,000 Venezuelans and 521,000 Haitians. Noem reversed the extensions in February, saying they were no longer justified.
In recent months, the Trump administration has removed the protective status for people from numerous countries, including Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. In November, the president announced the termination of protection for Somalis in Minnesota.
Trump has made controlling immigration a central plank of his second White House term. Canceling TPS protections is a boost to the administration’s campaign to deport millions of people. The cancellations have been challenged in court.
The U.S Supreme Court in October cleared the way for the administration to revoke TPS for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan people in the United States, granting a request to put on hold a federal judge’s ruling that Noem lacked the authority to terminate the status while litigation proceeds.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also said on Friday it was no longer processing legacy cases under the Cuban and Haitian family reunification parole program, according to a post in the Federal Register. Those programs make it easier for US citizens and lawful permanent residents to bring family members into the country.
