The US government has ended a three-year-old policy that allowed Ethiopians to remain in the country under temporary protection.

The US government grants this temporary protection to refugees from countries where there is conflict, natural disaster, or other exceptional circumstances that threaten their safety.

Refugees who are accepted into this asylum system receive temporary protection that allows them to work in the United States and avoid deportation.

This temporary legal protection granted to Ethiopian asylum seekers by President Joe Biden's administration following the war in Tigray has now been ended by President Trump's administration, which is taking a hardline stance on immigrants.

The decision was announced in a statement by US Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noam at the Federal Government's annual meeting, where government decisions are made.

"After reviewing the country's circumstances and consulting with relevant U.S. government agencies, the Secretary of State has determined that Ethiopia does not meet the requirements for temporary legal protection," the statement said.

The US government began granting this legal protection to Ethiopians, initially for an 18-month period, on October 21, 2022, in a statement issued by then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Given the unique and temporary circumstances of the armed conflict in Ethiopia at the time, temporary legal protection has been granted to Ethiopians who do not have legal residency in the United States, and has been in effect for the past three years.