The Trump administration is ending temporary protected status for nationals from Afghanistan and Cameroon in the United States, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, as the administration pursues more stringent immigration policy.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem determined Afghanistan doesn’t meet requirements for TPS designation and terminated it March 21st, according to an agency spokesperson, based on a US Citizenship and Immigration Services review of the conditions, and made the determination for Cameroon April 7th.
TPS is designated when conditions in a country do not allow for its nationals' safe return, and prevents their removal from the United States.
Afghanistan was designated for TPS under the Biden administration in the aftermath of the United State’s withdrawal from the country, during which the Taliban took control. The U.S. made efforts in particular to evacuate Afghan nationals who had aided the United States. Afghanistan's TPS designation was extended in 2023 and set to expire May 20th without a further extension.
The Biden administration cited the “ongoing armed conflict” and remaining “extraordinary and temporary conditions” in extending the designation in 2023, noting human rights abuses, disregard for law and fear of retribution against those opposing the Taliban.
“Ongoing armed conflict in Afghanistan also poses a serious threat to the safety of nationals returning to Afghanistan. Extraordinary and temporary conditions, including lack of access to food, clean water, and healthcare, as well as destroyed infrastructure, internal displacement, and economic instability continue to prevent Afghan nationals from returning to their homeland in safety,” the government wrote in its notice in the Federal Registrar at the time.
But Noem “determined that Afghanistan no longer continues to meet the statutory requirements for its TPS designation and so she terminated TPS for Afghanistan,” according to an agency spokesperson.
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The decision raises questions on the impacts for nationals from Afghanistan and Cameroon in the United States. The update does not apply to Afghan nationals in the United States through the US Refugee Admissions Program or Special Immigrant Visas, according to a department spokesperson.
“TPS exists for a reason: to protect people whose return to their country would place them in grave danger. Afghanistan today is still reeling from Taliban rule, economic collapse, and humanitarian disaster. Nothing about that reality has changed,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge. “Terminating protections for Afghans is a morally indefensible betrayal of allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us to advance American interests throughout our country’s longest war.”
A notice of termination of parole dated April 11th shown to Scripps News informs the recipient that their parole will terminate in seven days. “If you do not depart the United States immediately you will be subject to potential law enforcement actions that will result in your removal from the United States — unless you have otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain here,” the notice states.
“Terminating TPS is an act of willful ignorance. They know things haven’t gotten better on the ground in Afghanistan,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac. The coalition, which formed amid the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, brings together organizations helping Afghans resettle.
VanDiver said it isn’t policy “rooted in facts” but “political retribution.”
“It’s cruel, it’s chaotic and it undermines everything America claims to stand for when we promised not to leave our allies behind,” he said.
The decision to terminate TPS status comes amid the Trump administration’s broader crack down on immigration policy, including legal pathways into the US utilized under the Biden administration.
The administration has also sought to end TPS for Venezuelans, however the move was blocked by a federal court last month.
