Event Summary
On 24 November 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Myanmar, effective 26 January 2026, potentially forcing thousands of Myanmar nationals in the U.S. into deportation proceedings. DHS justified the termination by asserting that conditions in Myanmar have sufficiently “improved”—a claim starkly contradicted by the U.S. State Department’s own travel advisories and UN reports. Compounding this crisis, on 2 December 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a pause on reviewing all pending applications for green cards, citizenship, and asylum from immigrants from 19 countries, including Myanmar. These combined actions create a multi-front immigration blockade, trapping approximately 4,000 TPS holders and countless other Myanmar nationals in legal limbo, stripping them of protections and pathways to permanency, and dramatically increasing their risk of forced return to an active conflict zone.