TPS for Yemenis Cancelled: Ordered to Leave the United States Within 60 Days

International Desk | PNN

The United States government on Friday formally announced that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) previously granted to Yemeni citizens will no longer be maintained. This decision has left over 1,000 Yemeni refugees and asylum seekers currently residing in the U.S. in extreme uncertainty. They have been instructed to leave the country within 60 days, or face arrest and forcible deportation.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem explained that, after a thorough review of the current situation in Yemen and consultation with relevant agencies, she concluded that Yemen is no longer eligible for TPS. She added that allowing Yemeni citizens to stay temporarily in the U.S. is currently against U.S. national interests.

TPS is a special humanitarian program that grants temporary residence and work authorization in the U.S. to individuals who cannot return to their home country due to war, natural disasters, or other emergencies. TPS for Yemen had been in effect since September 2015 and was last extended in 2024. Although the status was supposed to expire on March 3, 2026, the new administration decision has terminated it early.

The administration announced that those who no longer have a legal path to remain in the U.S. will be offered a flight ticket and a $2,600 exit bonus to voluntarily leave the country.

Secretary Noem’s announcement comes at a time when Yemen remains devastated by civil war and humanitarian crisis. The U.S. State Department still advises American citizens against traveling to Yemen due to risks of terrorism, civil unrest, crime, kidnapping, and landmines.

This action is part of the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies. TPS for other countries, including Venezuela, Ukraine, Haiti, Somalia, and Nicaragua, has also been canceled. Currently, nationals from 19 countries face a full entry ban into the U.S., with partial restrictions imposed on another 29 countries.

International human rights organizations have strongly criticized this decision, stating that blocking safe refuge for vulnerable people from war-torn regions is inhumane.