The United States government’s recent move to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of Myanmar has sent ripples of anxiety through immigrant communities, human rights advocates, and international observers. The decision, announced in a draft notice by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on November 24, 2025, marks a significant shift in U.S. immigration policy at a time when Myanmar remains embroiled in a brutal civil war and its people continue to seek refuge across Southeast Asia.
According to the DHS notice, the TPS designation for Myanmar—initially granted under President Joe Biden in May 2021 and extended twice, most recently in May 2024—will officially expire 60 days after the Federal Register publishes the final notice. As of November 10, 2025, there were 3,969 Myanmar citizens in the U.S. benefiting from this legal pathway, with an additional 236 applications pending. The program has served as a lifeline for these individuals, granting them the right to live and work legally in the U.S. while their home country remains unsafe.
But the DHS, under the direction of Secretary Kristi Noem, has now determined that "Burma [Myanmar] no longer continues to meet the conditions for designation for Temporary Protected Status," as stated in the draft notice. The agency’s rationale hinges on reported improvements in Myanmar’s governance and stability, despite acknowledging that "Burma [Myanmar] continues to face humanitarian challenges due in part to continued military operations against armed resistance and the need for humanitarian assistance." The notice further contends that maintaining TPS for Myanmar nationals "ran contrary to the U.S. national interest."
President Donald Trump’s administration has made no secret of its intent to reduce immigration. Efforts to rescind TPS for other countries—including Haiti, Afghanistan, and Venezuela—have been part of a broader push to curtail legal pathways for migrants. Just last Friday, Trump took to his platform, Truth Social, to declare, "I am hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota," and called for their immediate removal. Legal experts have questioned whether a president can target TPS revocations to specific states or groups, and some have accused the administration of using such pronouncements to intimidate immigrant communities.
These moves have not gone unchallenged. Several attempts to strip TPS and similar protections, such as humanitarian parole, are currently mired in legal battles. However, the Supreme Court has largely sided with the administration. In a notable unsigned decision on May 30, the high court lifted a lower court’s order that had blocked DHS from ending humanitarian parole for nearly 500,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans, and Haitians. In her dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned, "[The decision] undervalues the devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending." Justice Sonia Sotomayor joined in the dissent, highlighting the human cost of such abrupt policy changes.
For Myanmar nationals, the timing of the TPS termination could hardly be worse. The country has been mired in violence since February 2021, when the military ousted the democratically elected government of President Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup plunged Myanmar into chaos, with the military battling members of the exiled government, armed ethnic groups, and civilian opposition. Heavy airstrikes—some targeting schools and hospitals—have become tragically commonplace. Both rebel forces and government troops have faced credible accusations of human rights abuses, including torture.
The United Nations estimates that, as of October 2025, nearly 1,585,298 people from Myanmar have become asylum seekers or refugees. Many of these individuals, including members of the persecuted Rohingya minority, have sought shelter in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh and Malaysia. The Rohingya, described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted peoples, have faced decades of discrimination, statelessness, and restrictions on movement, education, and employment. Their plight has driven waves of migration, often under perilous conditions.
Malaysia, in particular, has seen the consequences of Myanmar’s unrest firsthand. The coastal settlement of Bukit Malut in Langkawi continues to expand, raising local concerns over security, land disputes, and the growing presence of Rohingya refugees. Originally a mangrove forest reserve less than 11 kilometers from Kuah town, Bukit Malut is now home to over 800 houses and an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 residents. The area’s population is a mix of Malay communities—some of whom arrived in the late 1970s and early 1980s—and Rohingya refugees who began settling along the coast before expanding into hilly terrain.
Most homes in Bukit Malut are squatter settlements built without official approval on government land, some of which is owned by the Fisheries Department and state-owned Permodalan Kedah Berhad. The area has gained a reputation as one of Langkawi’s "black spots" due to frequent crime and drug-related incidents. A recent Berita Harian survey found that houses now stretch from the coast to the main road connecting Kuah to Pantai Cenang. Some new two- and three-storey houses have appeared, even as questions over land ownership and legality remain unresolved.
Local residents have voiced their unease. Azman, a longtime resident of Kampung Bayas, Ulu Melaka, expressed frustration: "We, the original people of Langkawi, have long been uneasy with the presence of Rohingya in Bukit Malut as they increasingly encroach on nearby plantation land. If there is empty land, they occupy it. First, they build small huts, then small houses, and later multi-storey homes." Abdullah, another local in his 60s, urged authorities to check all residents in Bukit Malut, warning, "If they are left unchecked, we worry they will begin illegal activities and threaten the safety of local residents."
The dangers faced by Rohingya refugees remain stark. Just two weeks before the DHS announcement, a boat carrying around 70 Rohingya capsized off the Myanmar coast, linked to an illegal immigration smuggling network. At least 27 people were confirmed dead, with many more missing. This tragedy underscores the desperate measures many are willing to take to escape persecution and conflict in Myanmar.
Despite these ongoing challenges, the U.S. government maintains that conditions in Myanmar have improved enough to warrant ending TPS. The Department of State continues to issue a level-four travel advisory for Myanmar, warning against all travel due to "armed conflict, the potential for civil unrest, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, poor health infrastructure, land mines and unexploded ordnance, crime, and wrongful detentions." Yet, the DHS notice asserts that recent improvements in governance and stability justify the withdrawal of protections for nearly 4,000 Myanmar nationals in the U.S.
As the 60-day countdown begins, affected individuals and advocacy groups are left scrambling for answers. With the Biden administration’s initial TPS designation and subsequent extensions now set to expire, and with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to tighten immigration, the fate of thousands hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, the ongoing violence and humanitarian crises in Myanmar and across Southeast Asia show little sign of abating, leaving many to wonder what the future holds for those caught in the crossfire of policy and conflict.
