US Names 12 Countries Whose Nationals Now Face Deportation As Protected Status Ends

• The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Temporary Protected Status terminations are now in effect for nationals of 12 countries
• The affected countries span four continents, including Haiti, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Somalia and Cameroon, among others
• DHS issued a stark warning to those whose TPS has been terminated, directing them to leave the United States immediately

The United States Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that the termination of Temporary Protected Status is now in effect for nationals of 12 countries, directing those affected to depart the country or face deportation.

The announcement was made on August 14 by James Percival, the Seventh General Counsel of the US Department of Homeland Security, posting from the official DHS General Counsel account.

The parent agency account amplified the update with a direct warning: "Leave now or be deported."

12 countries lose TPS protection

The 12 nations whose TPS designations have been terminated span four continents. Four are African countries: Cameroon, South Sudan and Somalia. Five are in Asia: Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Nepal and Burma.

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Three are in North and Central America and the Caribbean: Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua. Venezuela is the sole South American nation on the list.

Nationals of these countries who had been residing in the United States under TPS protections are now considered to be without lawful status, making them subject to removal proceedings.

Trump administration's position on TPS

The terminations reflect a long-standing policy argument from the Trump administration that Temporary Protected Status was never intended to function as a permanent immigration pathway.

DHS has maintained that the programme should end when the conditions that originally warranted the designation have sufficiently improved in a given country.

In the case of Somalia, for example, DHS stated that conditions on the ground had improved to a degree that justified ending the country's TPS designation, a position that rights groups and immigration advocates have strongly disputed given the ongoing security situation in the country.

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The move represents one of the broadest simultaneous terminations of TPS designations in the programme's history, affecting nationals from countries that have collectively been cited for armed conflict, natural disasters and other extraordinary conditions that had previously made return unsafe.

US expands visa overstay crackdown to 15 airports

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the US had started detaining foreign nationals with expired visas directly at airports.

ICE agents embarked on operations at check-in counters, boarding gates and arrival terminals across at least 15 airports in recent weeks.

Ghanaian nationals, along with nationals from more than a dozen other countries, are among those affected.

Source: YEN.com.gh