Khaberni - The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced the termination of the Temporary Protected Status granted to thousands of Ethiopians residing in the United States, in a move that has sparked widespread controversy both within the country and abroad.
The decision, revealed by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Friday, obliges about 5,000 Ethiopians to leave U.S. territory within 60 days, or else face arrest and forced deportation.
U.S. authorities justified this step by stating that conditions in Ethiopia "no longer pose a serious threat" to returnees, citing peace agreements signed in recent years, including a ceasefire in the Tigray region in 2022 and a December 2024 agreement in Oromia.
However, the U.S. Department of State still warns its citizens against traveling to Ethiopia due to ongoing sporadic violence, civil unrest, and risks of terrorism and kidnapping.
The decision is part of a broader campaign to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of citizens from countries such as Haiti, Venezuela, Somalia, and South Sudan.
This approach has drawn sharp criticism, especially following Trump's recent remarks that included verbal attacks against the Somali community in Minnesota, describing immigrants as "trash," alongside sending reinforcements of immigration and customs agents to the state.
The inconsistency in policies has sparked additional controversy as the administration opened a resettlement program for white African refugees from South Africa, claiming they faced "racial discrimination," a claim rejected by the South African government and many Africans themselves.
Legal and Humanitarian Dimensions
The U.S. authorities have offered what they described as a "free ticket" and a "thousand-dollar exit reward" for those willing to leave voluntarily through a special electronic application.
In contrast, experts have warned that the decision could exacerbate the suffering of thousands of families, presenting them with difficult choices between returning to areas still experiencing unrest or facing forced deportation.
Analysts believe that these steps reveal selective tendencies in American immigration policy, granting resettlement opportunities to specific groups on an ethnic basis, while withdrawing them from others who have fled documented armed conflicts.
