Trump to end the protected status for Afghans and Cameroonians

Thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians will have the end of their temporary expulsion protections, said the United States Department of Internal Security.

Internal security secretary Kristi Noem noted that the conditions in Afghanistan and Cameroon no longer deserve American protections, according to a statement from the deputy secretary of the DHS, Tricia McLaughlin.

To an estimate 14,600 Afghans before eligible For temporary protected status (TPS) 7,900 Cameroonians will lose it in June.

The same day that an American judge ruled that the Trump administration could expel a university graduate, detained last month for his role in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

TPS is granted to nationals of designated countries facing conditions, such as armed conflicts or environmental disasters, which makes them dangerous to return home.

The status generally lasts up to 18 months, can be renewed by the outgoing secretary for internal security and offers deportation protection and access to work permits.

According to McLaughlin, in September 2023, the interior security secretary at the time, Alejandro Mayorkas, announced that TP for Afghans would be extended from 18 months until May 20 of this year.

But on March 21, after consulting the American government agencies, Noem “determined that Afghanistan continued to meet the legal requirements for its TPS designation and that it therefore ended TP for Afghanistan,” said McLaughlin.

She added that Noem’s decision was based on a review of the conditions of citizenship and immigration of the United States (USCIS) in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regained control almost four years ago.

A similar decision ending the designation of Cameroon for TPS was taken on April 7, said McLaughlin.

Last month, Trump’s administration said it would also revoke the temporary legal status of more than half a million migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua and Venezuela.

They were brought to the United States as part of a sponsorship process of the Biden era known as CHNV, which Trump suspended after taking office.

More than 120,700 Venezuelans, 110,900 Cubans and more than 93,000 Nicaragues were authorized in the United States as part of the program before its closure.

Those who were invited to leave were warned to do so before their license and their expulsion protections later expiring this month, on April 24, according to a notice published by the federal government.

But it is not only the persons granted to PT that have been affected by the evolution of the United States immigration rules.

Shukriah – Not his real name – lives in Washington DC. She arrived in the United States in January of last year with her family. They had fled Afghanistan and suffered a long trip to the United States, in 11 countries, in order to claim asylum.

“The fear of expulsion has deeply affected my mental and physical health. I can barely sleep, my legs suffer and I constantly cry from fear and anxiety,” she told the BBC.

Shukriah, who is seven months pregnant, received an email – seen by the BBC – April 10 from the Ministry of Homeland Security who said: “It is time for you to leave the United States.”

He added: “Unless he expires earlier, your parole will end seven days from the date of this notice.

“If you do not leave the United States immediately, you will be subject to potential laws for applying the law.”

The website of the Ministry of Internal Security contains information for Afghan nationals on how to apply for extensions to stay in the United States now that the programs that previously protected Afghans are modified.

While Shukriah’s young children are all eligible, because of their age, the path of her husband and her husband could be more complicated.

“My parole was granted as part of the humanitarian program, and my case is still pending,” said Shukriah.

“I don’t know what steps to take now, and I’m very afraid of what will happen to me and my family.”

Immigration, in particular mass deportation, has been a key objective of Trump’s election campaign – and has dominated the policy since its entry into office.

Earlier this year, the data obtained by Reuters showed that in its first month of return, The United States has expelled 37,660 people – Less to the monthly average of 57,000 moves and yields in the past year of the Biden administration.

The Trump administration has continued to revoke the visas of hundreds of international students in order to repress Pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the United States university campuses.

Such a matter has seen a rule of the US immigration court on Friday that Trump administration could expel Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent legal resident, who has been held in a Louisiana detention center since March 8.

In a letter written in the establishment, he declared that his “arrest was a direct consequence” of speech for Palestinian rights.

Noem, praising the decision on social networks, said “it is a privilege to be awarded a visa or a green card to live and study” in the United States, and that “when you defend violence, glorification and support terrorists who savor the murder of the Americans and you harass the Jews, who privilege should be revoked”.

“Good riddling,” she added.

Mr. Khalil’s lawyer said his team was going to fight for the “right of his client to denounce what is happening in the United States”.