US orders thousands of Ethiopians to leave as Trump ends temporary protections

The United States has moved to end temporary legal protections for thousands of Ethiopian nationals, giving them 60 days to leave the country or face arrest and deportation, in the latest escalation of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration agenda.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Friday that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia would be terminated, arguing that conditions in the country “no longer pose a serious threat” to returning nationals. The decision affects roughly 5,000 people who fled armed conflict and instability.

The termination will formally take effect in early February 2026, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Current TPS holders are required to depart voluntarily or secure another legal pathway to remain in the US. Those who do not comply and are arrested “may never be allowed to return,” DHS warned.

The move sits uneasily alongside the US State Department’s own travel advisory for Ethiopia, which continues to urge Americans to “reconsider” travel due to ongoing risks, including violent conflict, civil unrest, crime, terrorism and kidnapping. The advisory also notes that several regions remain effectively off-limits and that US consular support could be limited if conditions deteriorate.

Federal authorities defended the decision by pointing to recent political developments, including a 2022 ceasefire that ended large-scale fighting in Tigray and a December 2024 agreement in Oromia. A Federal Register notice acknowledged that “sporadic and episodic violence” persists, but claimed improvements in healthcare, food security and displacement figures indicated overall recovery.

The notice also cited US national interest considerations, including Ethiopian visa overstay rates that exceed the global average by more than 250 percent, as well as unspecified national security investigations involving some TPS holders.

Ending TPS for Ethiopians is part of a broader rollback under President Donald Trump, whose administration has already stripped protections from nationals of Haiti, Venezuela, Somalia, South Sudan and other countries since returning to office. As of March 2025, about 1.3 million people were living in the US under TPS, according to the American Immigration Council.

Critics say the policy reflects racial and political selectivity. While protections are being withdrawn from Ethiopians who fled documented armed conflict, the administration has simultaneously opened a refugee resettlement programme for white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, citing alleged “race-based discrimination,” claims rejected by the South African government and by many Afrikaners themselves.

Trump has made immigration enforcement central to his national security strategy, portraying migration as a civilisational threat. In recent weeks, he has also escalated rhetoric against immigrant communities, including inflammatory remarks targeting Somali Americans in Minnesota, alongside a surge in immigration enforcement activity in the state.