Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the Federal Register that Ethiopia no longer meets the criteria required for TPS designation. The decision followed a review of country conditions and consultations with relevant U.S. agencies.
TPS offers work authorization and temporary protection from deportation to nationals of countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances. Created in 1991, the program was significantly expanded under President Biden to include roughly 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 520,000 Haitians. Noem reversed those extensions in February.
In recent months, the administration has terminated TPS protections for several countries including Haiti, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and Venezuela. In November, Trump also announced the end of protections for Somali nationals living in Minnesota.
Immigration enforcement has become a central policy priority of Trump’s second term, and rolling back TPS is seen as a major boost to the administration’s goal of removing millions of undocumented and out-of-status migrants. Many of the cancellations, however, are facing legal challenges.
In October, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the administration to revoke TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, putting on hold a lower court ruling that said Noem lacked the authority to end the program while lawsuits continue.
Separately, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that it will stop processing remaining applications under the Cuban and Haitian family reunification parole programs, which were designed to help U.S. citizens and permanent residents bring relatives into the country more easily.
The latest actions underscore the administration’s continued push to tighten immigration pathways across the board.
