The Trump administration will terminate temporary deportation protections for about 5,000 Ethiopian immigrants in the United States, according to a Federal Register notice released Friday. Ethiopia’s Temporary Protected Status designation expired Friday, and the termination will take effect on Feb. 10.The TPS program allows immigrants to remain in the U.S. for up to 18 months when the Department of Homeland Security determines it is unsafe for them to return home. It also allows eligible immigrants to apply for work authorization while the designation is active. TPS has been a major target of the Trump administration’s broader effort to dismantle humanitarian protections, a push that has repeatedly faced legal challenges.DHS acknowledged that intense armed conflict has unfolded in Ethiopia involving ethnic groups, but said there have been sufficient security improvements to justify ending the protections. This claim is difficult to justify given ongoing unrest in Amhara, unresolved fallout from the Tigray conflict, and continued instability in Oromia, where violence, displacement, and insecurity persist.In the same notice, DHS also announced it is terminating a family reunification parole process for immigrants from Colombians, Cubans, Ecuadorians, Guatemalans, Haitians, Hondurans, and Salvadorans, effective Dec. 15. Existing parole grants will expire 30 days after that.
