Nationals of 4 African countries in US face deportation risk as Trump ends temporary protection

The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that TPS terminations for a group of countries had taken effect, removing a protection that had allowed eligible nationals to remain in the US and obtain work authorisation while their countries were considered unsafe for return.

The four African countries are among 13 countries affected by the latest wave of TPS terminations, alongside Afghanistan, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Myanmar.

TPS does not provide permanent residency or citizenship. It is a temporary humanitarian protection that the US government can grant to nationals of countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions that make safe return difficult.

The latest move is part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to unwind TPS designations that have protected hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from deportation.

Cameroon, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan have all had TPS designations for years, with the protections based on conditions including armed conflict, humanitarian crises and other extraordinary circumstances.

South Sudan, for example, was first designated for TPS in 2011 following the country’s independence and continuing armed conflict, with US authorities citing food insecurity, human rights abuses and obstacles to humanitarian assistance among the conditions affecting the safety of return.

Ethiopia’s TPS designation was introduced in 2022 amid the humanitarian consequences of conflict and instability, while Somalia has been covered since 1991 because of prolonged conflict and insecurity. US authorities have since moved to terminate those protections.

Cameroon’s TPS designation, which covered eligible nationals from the country’s ongoing conflict-affected regions, was also terminated by the administration.

The end of TPS does not automatically mean every affected person will be deported. Beneficiaries who have another lawful immigration status, a pending application or another form of protection may have an alternative basis to remain in the country.

For those without another legal status, however, losing TPS can remove protection from removal and the associated employment authorisation.

The policy therefore puts pressure on African communities that have established lives in the US under protections that in some cases have lasted for decades.

The broader rollback also signals a significant change in US immigration policy. TPS was designed as a temporary humanitarian measure, but successive administrations repeatedly extended protections for countries where conflicts and humanitarian crises persisted.

The Trump administration has argued that TPS should not become a pathway for indefinite residence and has moved to end protections where it determines that the statutory conditions for the programme no longer warrant continued designation.

For nationals of the four African countries affected, the immediate question is now whether they have another legal basis to remain in the US — or whether the end of TPS will eventually place them in removal proceedings.