By Matik Kueth
The Trump administration has announced the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for South Sudanese nationals, a humanitarian safeguard that has allowed citizens from the war-torn country to live and work legally in the United States for more than a decade.
According to a notice published Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), nationals from South Sudan will have a 60-day grace period to leave the country before deportations begin in early January.
The current designation, which expired on Monday, had covered about 232 South Sudanese individuals, with an additional 73 applications pending.
President Donald Trump’s administration has steadily moved to strip legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants from several nations since taking office in January, as part of its sweeping “America First” immigration agenda.
The TPS program offers temporary legal protection and work authorization to nationals of countries affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
DHS said South Sudan no longer meets the criteria for the designation, despite continued reports of instability and widespread food insecurity.
The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have warned that hunger and malnutrition in South Sudan remain “extremely high,” with millions still in need of food assistance.
The country endured a devastating civil war between 2013 and 2018 that left an estimated 400,000 people dead and displaced millions.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for nationals from Syria, Venezuela, Haiti, Nicaragua, and other countries, though several terminations remain entangled in ongoing court challenges.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has further reduced the annual refugee admissions cap to the lowest level on record, further tightening America’s immigration and asylum system.