Trump Administration Set To End Protected Status For Nepalese Migrants

Last Updated:June 05, 2025, 23:49 IST

The removal means approximately 7,000 Nepalese with temporary protected status could face deportation if they don't adjust their immigration status by August 5, 2025.

US President Donald Trump

The Trump administration is set to revoke deportation protections for thousands of Nepalese people who were granted refuge following the 2015 earthquake.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the notice that the administration is terminating temporary protected status for Nepal after a review found the country has largely recovered from the disaster.

“There are notable improvements in environmental disaster preparedness and response capacity, as well as substantial reconstruction from the earthquake’s destruction such that there is no longer a disruption of living conditions and Nepal is able to handle adequately the return of its nationals," the notification said.

The removal means approximately 7,000 Nepalese with temporary protected status could face deportation if they don’t adjust their immigration status by August 5, 2025. Of the 12,700 affected, around 5,500 hold permanent residency. Secretary Noem pointed to improvements in Nepal’s disaster preparedness as pivotal to the decision.

The notice said the revocation will take effect 60 days from Friday, giving the Nepalese citizens to leave the country or change their immigration status. After that date, they could face deportation.

Donald Trump, who returned to the presidency in January, has pledged to deport record numbers of migrants in the United States illegally and has moved to strip certain migrants of temporary legal protections, expanding the pool of possible deportees.

During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump’s administration tried to end most enrollment in the temporary protected status program, but was stymied by federal courts.

Last month, the US Supreme Court let the Trump administration end temporary protected status that was granted to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the US by his predecessor Joe Biden. Trump has also sought to end the status for Haitians, Afghans and others.

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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