US Judge Blocks Trump Effort to End Protected Status for Yemeni Nationals

Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Efforts to End Yemeni Temporary Protected Status

A US District Judge has issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration’s plan to strip temporary deportation protections for nearly 3,000 Yemeni nationals living in the United States. The decision comes as part of the administration’s efforts to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for 13 countries.

The TPS designation provides temporary protection against deportation for individuals from countries experiencing conflict, natural disasters, or other hazardous conditions. In February, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to end TPS for people from Yemen living in the US, citing that the country no longer meets the law’s requirements for designation.

However, a group of Yemeni nationals sued the Department of Homeland Security over the plan, and US District Judge Dale Ho has ruled in their favor. The decision blocks the DHS decision, which was set to take effect on Monday.

The Trump administration had also placed Yemen on a travel ban issued last year, along with Haiti and Syria. Travel advisories from the US State Department warn residents against traveling to these countries due to threats such as terrorism, kidnapping, and civil unrest.

Advocates have expressed concerns that sending migrants living in the US back to their home countries would put their lives at risk. The ruling is a latest development in the administration’s efforts to end TPS designations for various countries, with similar rulings blocking the government from ending protections for more than 350,000 people from Haiti and 6,100 from Syria.

Source: Al Jazeera