The Media Line: Trump Administration Ends Temporary Protected Status for Yemenis, Giving 60 Days To Depart 

Trump Administration Ends Temporary Protected Status for Yemenis, Giving 60 Days To Depart 

By The Media Line Staff 

The Trump administration has ended Temporary Protected Status for Yemenis in the United States, a move that US officials said will affect nearly 4,000 people and could open the door to deportations after a short wind-down period. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Friday that the Department of Homeland Security has terminated Yemen’s TPS designation after a review of conditions in the country. “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. 

Temporary Protected Status allows nationals of designated countries to live and work in the US for limited periods when conditions at home make return unsafe, typically because of war, natural disaster, or other extraordinary circumstances. Yemen first received TPS in 2015 as the country slid deeper into a multi-sided conflict that has included Houthi forces, the internationally recognized government, and regional intervention. The war has contributed to widespread displacement and humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations repeatedly warning of severe needs across the country. 

Noem argued that continuing TPS for Yemenis is no longer justified. “Allowing TPS beneficiaries from Yemen to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interest,” she said, describing the program as inherently time-limited. 

Under the decision, Yemenis covered by TPS who lack another legal pathway to remain in the US will have 60 days to leave voluntarily. After the termination takes effect, the department said it may detain and remove Yemeni nationals who do not have lawful status once their TPS protection expires. 

Yemeni officials said the move was expected, given the administration’s broader immigration posture. Mustafa Ahmad Noman, Yemen’s deputy minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, said, “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 urged affected Yemenis to seek legal remedies, saying they “can pursue legal avenues, as other Arab and non-Arab communities have done and succeeded in delaying it,” and said Yemen’s embassy in Washington is working with relevant contacts to assist. 

The policy shift adds another flashpoint to US immigration debates as President Donald Trump’s administration presses forward with tougher enforcement and narrower humanitarian protections.