A visit organized by the Yemeni government for foreign journalists, showing pro-Saudi Yemeni forces inside a military camp formerly controlled by the United Arab Emirates in Al-Dhaba, in the southern province of Hadramaut, on Jan. 20, 2026. (Credit: Fadel Senna/AFP) This picture taken during a tour for foreign media organised by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces inside a military camp formerly controlled by the UAE in Al-Dhaba, in the southern Hadramawt province, on January 20, 2026. The United Arab Emirates on January 20 denied running secret prisons in southern Yemen following claims from Saudi-backed Yemeni officials that widened a rift between the Gulf powers. (Photo by Fadel SENNA / AFP)
The U.S. government announced Friday that it will end the protected status granted to exiles from Yemen, a program that has been in place for ten years.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which was first granted to Yemeni nationals in September 2015 because of the country’s ongoing armed conflict, will terminate in 60 days. TPS allows a limited number of people to live and work in the United States if returning home would put them at risk due to war, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. About 1,400 Yemenis in the United States currently benefit from the designation.
The Trump administration has already ended TPS protections for several countries, including Venezuela, Haiti and Nepal, as part of its broader effort to reduce immigration.
Yemen is among the poorest countries in the world and has been mired in civil war since 2014. “After reviewing the situation in the country and consulting the appropriate U.S. government agencies, I have determined that Yemen no longer meets the legal conditions to qualify for Temporary Protected Status,” Noem said in a statement. “Allowing Yemeni TPS beneficiaries to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interest,” she added.
Yemeni TPS recipients who lack another legal basis to remain in the United States will have 60 days to leave or face arrest, according to the statement. The government is offering a free plane ticket and a “departure bonus” of $2,600 to those who choose to leave voluntarily.
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles
