The Department of Homeland Security announced on Friday that nationals of the country of Cameroon have been designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Cameroon joins several other countries that are currently designated for TPS according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services
I wish the TPS designation had come quicker. In Tijuana in 2019 for Al Otro Lado's Border Rights Project, I interviewed four English-speaking Cameroonian asylum seekers who had been caught in the middle, threatened and harmed by both government forces and the "Amba Boys" who pressured them to join the separatist movement. I hope the folks I met -- teachers, a graduate student, a shopkeeper -- were allowed into the U.S. so that TPS can help them. No such luck for those from TPS countries hoping to get into the U.S., though, is that correct?
That's correct. TPS only applies to people already in the country. Typically TPS announcements come with an "as of" date, so people have to be in the country "as of" a certain date (typically the date of the announcement). Anyone arriving later is not eligible, although sometimes when TPS is re-issued, the date may get updated.
I wish the TPS designation had come quicker. In Tijuana in 2019 for Al Otro Lado's Border Rights Project, I interviewed four English-speaking Cameroonian asylum seekers who had been caught in the middle, threatened and harmed by both government forces and the "Amba Boys" who pressured them to join the separatist movement. I hope the folks I met -- teachers, a graduate student, a shopkeeper -- were allowed into the U.S. so that TPS can help them. No such luck for those from TPS countries hoping to get into the U.S., though, is that correct?
That's correct. TPS only applies to people already in the country. Typically TPS announcements come with an "as of" date, so people have to be in the country "as of" a certain date (typically the date of the announcement). Anyone arriving later is not eligible, although sometimes when TPS is re-issued, the date may get updated.