DHS to Revoke Temporary Protected Status for Afghans, Cameroonians in US

The decision will affect about 14,600 Afghans and approximately 7,900 Cameroonians in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Washington on Aug. 12, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians living in the United States will have their temporary protected status (TPS) revoked in the coming months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Monday.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has terminated TPS designations for Afghanistan and Cameroon as she determined that the countries’ current conditions no longer warrant protections, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

The decision will affect about 14,600 Afghans, who are set to lose their legal status in May, and approximately 7,900 Cameroonians, whose protected status will expire by June.

McLaughlin stated that Noem decided to terminate Afghanistan’s TPS designation following a review by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which had also consulted with the State Department.

TPS is a designation that allows individuals from countries affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary events the ability to remain in the United States.

Global Refuge, a U.S.-based nonprofit refugee resettlement agency, has condemned the DHS move to revoke protections for Afghan nationals and urged the government to reverse its course.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, stated that Afghanistan has been facing a humanitarian crisis under Taliban rule, which seized power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of American troops from the country.

In a statement, Vignarajah called the decision to revoke protections for Afghans “a morally indefensible betrayal,” saying that the individuals could face oppression if deported to Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan today is still reeling from Taliban rule, economic collapse, and humanitarian disaster,” she said. “Forcing them back to Taliban rule, where they face systemic oppression and gender-based violence, would be an utterly unconscionable stain on our nation’s reputation.”

CASA—which organizes working-class black, Latino, African-descendant, Indigenous, and immigrant communities—said that ending TPS for Cameroonians would put them at “severe risk” due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Central African nation.

The nonprofit stated that nearly 1 million people have been displaced in Cameroon due to an ongoing armed conflict, and that now is not the right time to force the return of Cameroonians.

“Cameroon clearly meets the statutory basis for the redesignation of TPS,” CASA Executive Director Gustavo Torres stated. “This termination of TPS is a xenophobic attack that targets our families and neighbors and endangers the economy of the U.S.”

The Epoch Times has reached out to DHS for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

The move to revoke TPS for Afghans and Cameroonians comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to enhance border security and review immigration programs it says no longer align with national interests.

Last month, DHS said it would revoke the TPS of more than 530,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who entered the United States under the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program, known as the CHNV program.

The program, launched in 2022, had allowed up to 30,000 immigrants from the four countries into the United States each month, provided they met certain conditions, including having a sponsor in the United States who would provide them financial support.

Noem said in a March notice that such parole programs “do not serve a significant public benefit” and are not effective in reducing the levels of illegal immigration in the United States.

The Trump administration has faced legal pushback in its efforts to deport immigrants. On April 10, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani agreed to block the government from revoking the temporary legal status of Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Cubans.

Talwani said that the administration’s plan to expose hundreds of thousands of immigrants to expedited deportation was based on an incorrect reading of the statute overriding the process.

Jacob Burg contributed to this report.