At 50 years old, a woman who spent her childhood in the Gurage Zone finds her life once again uprooted, faced with the prospect of a forced return to a place she hasn’t called home in decades.
After fleeing to Addis Ababa following her mother’s death at the tender age of 12, she spent her youth working as a housemaid before eventually travelling to the United States in the employ of an Ethiopian diplomat.
She and her employer entered the country on a tourist visa, which eventually expired. Without a residence permit or lawful status in the U.S, she would spend the next 25 years working as a nanny in a string of Ethiopian households.
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Her immigration status meant she was unable to rent a home in her own name, but that all changed under the administration of former President Joe Biden, which designated Ethiopian immigrants as eligible for a temporary asylum program amid the two-year northern war.
After obtaining Temporary Protected Status (TPS), she found work at a factory and was finally able to rent a home.
Sadly, the life she has built is in jeopardy today.
Earlier this month, the administration of President Donald Trump announced its decision to end TPS for Ethiopian immigrants, stating that “Ethiopia no longer continues to meet the conditions for Temporary Protected Status.” The decision has thrown her life into chaos.
The termination of TPS invalidated her work permit, and she was subsequently laid off from her job.
The abrupt end to these protections follows an announcement by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who declared that conditions in Ethiopia no longer pose a “serious threat” to returning nationals.
“TPS designations are time-limited and were never meant to be a ticket to permanent residency,” a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesperson said. “Conditions in Ethiopia no longer pose a serious threat to the personal safety of returning Ethiopian nationals. As the situation no longer meets the statutory requirements for TPS, Secretary Noem is terminating this designation to restore integrity to our immigration system.”
The TPS program began in 1990 and initially applied to migrants from the nearby states of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras, but has since expanded to cover many other countries.
As of March 31, 2025, the U.S. had granted TPS to approximately 1.3 million individuals from 17 countries. These designations are made based on severe conditions in each nation.
For example, Afghanistan was designated due to the severe humanitarian crisis and ongoing conflict following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021. Somalia is included because of widespread violence, threats from Al-Shabaab, famine, disease, and extreme weather. Honduras first received TPS in 1999 after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country. El Salvador was designated in 2001 following a series of devastating earthquakes.
Today, Ethiopia is one of a dozen countries under TPS, alongside Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen. Approximately 1.3 million people live in the U.S. with TPS, and while Ethiopian immigrants account for only a tiny portion of the total, the consequences of the termination are dire for many.
Asamen Mekonnen, a U.S-based immigration lawyer, notes the scale of the decision. He points out that as of June 2025, there were 4,540 Ethiopians protected by TPS. Asamen estimates the number has grown closer to 5,000 in the months since.
He ascribed the revocation to broader political priorities.
“The termination of TPS for Ethiopia aligns with the Trump administration’s agenda. Since his campaign, President Trump has promised a major crackdown on immigration, and voters cast their ballots based on that promise. When you consider his administration’s policy focus, they are hammering on immigration matters even more than economic ones,” said Asamen.
The expert notes that the U.S. Congress has allocated millions of dollars to immigration institutions, hired more staff, and expanded the ICE deportation apparatus in the month since Trump took office for the second time.
“The Trump administration is unfriendly to immigrants and is depriving them of their rights,” said Asamen. “Most [TPS] designations have been terminated, and the remaining countries will also likely be revoked. The current administration stresses that the status is a temporary measure for conflicts and natural disasters, not a permanent one.”
The push to end the TPS program is rooted in a fundamental disagreement over its intent. The Trump administration has characterized TPS as a loophole prone to abuse by both foreign nationals and political opponents—a view that Asamen believes ignores the nuanced reality on the ground in Ethiopia.
The administration’s justification rests heavily on the 2022 Pretoria Peace Accord, which ended the brutal two-year war between the federal government and the TPLF.
Amsale Aberra, an immigration lawyer based in Seattle and Bellevue, notes that the DHS pointed to EU-funded recovery programs in Tigray as evidence of safe community reintegration.
However, legal experts argue this paints an incomplete picture.
Asamen highlights a “no war, no peace” deadlock in Tigray and a volatile ongoing conflict in the Amhara region between federal forces and Fano militants.
“I believe the administration terminated it due to political pressure, without conducting due investigation,” he argued. “We can appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that Ethiopia’s situation has not improved and the court could temporarily block the termination. But in the end, it’s inevitable that the executive decision will be implemented.”
He noted that of the 5,000 Ethiopians affected, most have student visas or pending asylum cases, which allow them the right to remain in the U.S. for now.
“The U.S. Federal Register—similar to Ethiopia’s Negarit Gazeta—states that all TPS beneficiaries must voluntarily leave the country by February 13, 2026, provided pocket money of USD 1,000 and a flight ticket. If they do not, deportation will follow. This makes enforcement highly likely,” he explained.
He also cited the State Department’s Human Rights Report on Ethiopia, which details significant human rights issues, including credible reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention.
“But the administration does not care. Such documented abuses are not enough for them,” he stressed. “Look at how they came to power—advisors like Stephen Miller, who hold an extreme right-wing stance, promised to deport 10 to 15 million immigrants without a green card. That’s the agenda driving this decision,” said Asamen.
“The key point is that granting TPS is not the role of the legislative body, but rather the executive branch, led by the President. This authority is designated to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is part of the executive. Their cases have even reached the Supreme Court, which has affirmed the executive’s power to designate or terminate TPS,” he further explained.
“What they observe is that while the Pretoria Peace Deal ended the two-year war between the federal government and the TPLF, no comparable international effort has been made to address the ongoing conflict in the Amhara region,” he said.
Amsale explained that conflict, food insecurity, and the threat of drought were the reasons for Ethiopia’s TPS designation.
“For example, my clients who have student visas and obtained work permits through TPS will not face immediate deportation, because they can revert to their pre-TPS status. For them, the negative impact may be limited,” she said.
“However, the termination will severely affect those who have relied entirely on TPS for lawful status and already have a deportation order. These individuals, who have lived here under TPS, will become susceptible to deportation because they cannot change to another status.”
She noted that in justifying the termination, the DHS pointed to the Pretoria Peace Accord of 2022, stating that it has settled the unrest in Ethiopia.
The Federal Register further explained the decision, stating: “Based on the Department’s review, the Secretary has determined the situation in Ethiopia no longer meets the criteria for an ongoing armed conflict that poses a serious threat to the personal safety of returning Ethiopian nationals.”
Amsale also cited a reason provided by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, noting that the European Union’s post-conflict recovery program in Tigray has focused on peacebuilding, socio-economic development, and trauma healing to enable safe community reintegration since 2021.
She contrasted this with the situation in the Amhara region, where conflict has been the reality since 2023. While the situation remains fluid, an April 2025 assessment observed a decrease in clashes between the government and Fano forces.
“However, various country condition reports claim the opposite is happening,” she said, noting that other sources continue to report clashes between the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and Fano.
“Another major reason DHS believes the situation has improved is that many individuals with TPS have obtained travel documents to return to Ethiopia, which prompted the administration to conclude that conditions there are now safer,” Amsale explained.
Data from the Department indicates that Ethiopians on business or tourism visas have an overstay rate of 8.27 percent, while the rate climbs to nearly 14 percent for student, non-academic and cultural exchange visas.
The figures are over 250 percent and 330 percent higher, respectively, than the averages overstay rates for all countries, according to DHS.
The Department also states that some Ethiopians living under TPS status have attempted to obtain immigration benefits through fraud or misrepresentation.
“Haiti, Honduras, and Venezuela are other countries whose TPS designations have been terminated,” Amsale added. “The immigration policy in the U.S. has an ‘America First’ motto—this is more of a political decision than a reflection of the reality in Ethiopia.”
“It’s highly likely that this measure will be implemented, and in my opinion, there’s little chance of backtracking. However, if conditions in Ethiopia worsen significantly (I wish that not to happen as an Ethiopian-born), there’s no reason why it could not be re-designated for TPS in the future,” she said.
The attorney notes that some countries, like Somalia, were first granted TPS in 1992 and have had their designation renewed multiple times since.
“This represents a special case, even though TPS is meant to be temporary,” said Amsale.
No less than 10 countries will be removed from the TPS list come February, including Venezuela, Afghanistan, Cameron, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Ethiopia.
Meanwhile, TPS for El Salvador, Sudan, and Ukraine has been extended through September and October 2026, while Somalia and Haiti’s protections are set to end in March 2026.
Asamen suggested that those losing TPS could explore other legal avenues.
“Individuals affected by the revocation can apply for asylum, employment-based visas, marriage-based visas, or student visas—though these processes typically take more than 60 days to complete,” he recommends.
For the 50-year-old woman and thousands like her, the protections offered by the U.S. appear to have finally run dry, leaving them to face a homeland that remains, for many, a place of profound uncertainty.
