APHR Condemns U.S. Move to End TPS for Myanmar Nationals: A Decision That Endangers Lives

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 November 2025—ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) strongly condemns the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Burma (Myanmar).

DHS justified this termination by emphasizing in the statement, ‘after conferring with interagency partners, Secretary Noem determined that conditions in Burma no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements’.

“This assertion is profoundly disconnected from the lived reality of millions of people in Myanmar and from the experiences of Myanmar peoples who fled persecution,” responds Mercy Chriesty Barends, APHR Chairperson and Member of the House of Representatives of Indonesia.

Barends added that, “terminating TPS now will remove legal protections from thousands who fled persecution. APHR calls on DHS to rescind this decision and keep families safe.”

Terminating TPS at this moment abandons those who escaped severe threats to life, liberty and family, and those who have worked lawfully and responsibly while rebuilding their lives in the United States. Many TPS beneficiaries have resided for years in the U.S. with strong community ties and employment records.

APHR contends that the claim that ‘conditions in Burma no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements’ ignores a worsening human rights crisis. Since the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar has experienced continuous escalation of state violence: arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, torture in detention, indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, and targeted airstrikes on towns and internally-displaced people (IDP) camps.

Sarah Jane Elago, Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines adds that, “to remove temporary protection while these threats persist is to expose people to a very real risk of harm and to undermine fundamental principles of humanitarian protection.”

Many TPS holders are the primary wage earners for their families, both domestically and overseas. Ending work authorization will collapse critical remittance lifelines that sustain households facing hardship inside Myanmar. It will also place TPS beneficiaries at risk of detention, deportation and family separation; punishing people who have complied with U.S. law and contributed to their communities.

“Returning people to a country where the junta blocks aid, detains critics and conducts violent operations is a direct threat to life. The U.S. must immediately halt this termination,” reiterated Charles Santiago, APHR Co-Chairperson and former Member of Parliament of Malaysia.

In this light, APHR urges the U.S. administration to reverse this decision. Any changes to immigration status must be accompanied by full consultations with Myanmar diaspora organizations, human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies. It must include case-by-case safety assessments that respect non-refoulement obligations.

Furthermore, APHR calls on Southeast Asian parliaments and international partners to press for meaningful protection measures for people forced to flee, to demand unfettered humanitarian access inside Myanmar, and to pursue accountability for crimes committed by the junta.

APHR stands with Myanmar people everywhere. Those resisting inside the country and those rebuilding their lives abroad. APHR will continue to push for humane, legally grounded solutions that prioritize life, dignity and safety above anything else.