US decision to end deportation protection for Myanmar nationals poses extreme risks: UN expert

NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) – UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews condemned the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Myanmar nationals, calling it a direct assault on fundamental rights.

The decision, he said, “is an assault on human rights and human decency based on a cruel fiction that ignores overwhelming evidence of Myanmar’s spiraling crisis.”

“Defying reality, this decision puts thousands at extreme risk while legitimizing a brutal regime that continues to use weapons of war to attack civilians,” Andrews added.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said TPS for Myanmar will end on Jan. 26, 2026, affecting nearly 4,000 people.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem argued conditions in Myanmar “no longer hinder the safe return” of its nationals.

Andrews called that justification — particularly the administration’s emphasis on the junta’s promised elections — “deeply disturbing.”

“The sham polls being staged by the junta are nothing more than a charade to entrench military dominance,” he said.

He warned that many TPS holders are activists, journalists, and opposition figures who could face detention, torture, or execution if forced back. Forced returns, he noted, could violate international non-refoulement protections.

“It is in the United States’ national interest — and consistent with its international obligations — to protect those who will help rebuild Myanmar as a democratic, rights-respecting nation,” Andrews said.