Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS), first designated for the Middle Eastern nation in September 2015 due to armed conflict, will be terminated in 60 days.

The Trump administration has rolled back TPS protections for many nations, mostly in the developing world, as part of a broader effort to scale back immigration.

TPS allows certain groups of people in the United States to live and work in the country if they are deemed to be in danger upon returning to their home nations due to war, natural disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances. The program applied to roughly 1,400 Yemeni nationals in the United States.

"After reviewing conditions in the country and consulting with appropriate US government agencies, I determined that Yemen no longer meets the legal requirements to be designated for Temporary Protected Status," Noem said in a statement.

"Allowing TPS Yemen beneficiaries to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interest," she added, describing the revocation as an act of "putting America first."

Although the protections are technically temporary, presidents have historically renewed TPS status for migrants rather than revoking it and rendering them undocumented. Yemeni beneficiaries with no other lawful basis to remain in the US have 60 days to voluntarily depart the country or face arrest, the statement said, offering a complimentary plane ticket and a USD 2,600 "exit bonus" for those who "self-deport."

Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, has been riven by civil war since 2014. The State Department currently advises against travel to Yemen, citing "terrorism, unrest, crime, health risks, kidnapping, and landmines."

Since coming to office last year, Trump has ended or sought to end TPS for nationals of Haiti, Somalia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Ethiopia, and Venezuela, among others. (Bssnews)