All the nations who've lost immigrant protections under Trump
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The Trump administration announced Monday that it will revoke the temporary residency of nearly 4,000 Burma nationals from Myanmar who have been living in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after the country's 2021 military coup.
The big picture: At least 675,000 people who have been stripped of their TPS protections since Trump took office are at risk of deportation, according to Carolyn Tran, Executive Director of Communities United for Status & Protection.
- The Trump administration has terminated TPS for nine countries and moved to end the asylum benefit for eight others, with some cancellations set to take effect in late 2026.
- Haiti, El Salvador and Ukraine, which are all slated to lose TPS protections, make up 97% of all TSP beneficiaries, along with Venezuela and Honduras, whose protections have already been terminated.
Context: Congress created TPS, which offers temporary refuge to people fleeing crisis, in 1990 to safeguard migrants from war, natural disasters and other dangerous conditions that made it impossible to return to their country of origin, allowing refugees to temporarily live and work in the U.S.
- TPS status can last anywhere from six to 18 months, and participants must reapply to renew their status, paying a fee of up to $500.
The intrigue: The reduction of TPS status follows the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which has seen thousands of migrants deported from the U.S. and tightened guidelines for certain types of visas.
- The administration also set a limit of 7,500 refugees for FY2026, marking a new record low for the U.S. and a stark shift from the final year of the Biden administration, which admitted 125,000 refugees.
- Priority will be given to Afrikaners, a group of white South Africans, who say they have been denied jobs and faced violence because of their race, as well as "other victims of illegal or unjust discrimination in their respective homelands," per the Federal Register filing.
Worth noting: More migrants will lose their TPS status in the coming months. Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that Burma "no longer continues to meet the conditions" allowing for TPS.
- "Burma has made notable progress in governance and stability, including the end of its state of emergency, plans for free and fair elections, successful ceasefire agreements, and improved local governance contributing to enhanced public service delivery and national reconciliation," DHS said in a statement Monday.
- The order, which is expected to publish in the Federal Register Tuesday, will then become effective in 60 days.
Trump announced last week that Somali immigrants residing in Minnesota would "immediately" lose their TPS status.
- "Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from," he said.
