Walid Fidama was a lifelong Democrat, but the Yemeni-American activist supported Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election amid anger over Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the marginalization of the Arab-American community.
But Fidama said Trump is making the same mistakes as his Democratic rivals in taking voters for granted, as the U.S. president expands and tightens immigration enforcement and recently revoked Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemenis.
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Fidama, a Michigan native, told Al Jazeera that the rationality of those who continue to support Trump should be questioned as his “arbitrary and cruel” policies affect everyone, not just the communities they target.
“Republicans should look at how they won in 2024. But they seem to be ignoring all realities and laws and trying to force their way through anti-immigrant policies,” he said.
Several Yemeni community leaders, particularly in Michigan, have openly supported Trump in the 2024 election.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revoked TPS for Yemen, which protects eligible Yemenis living in the United States from deportation due to dangerous conditions in their homeland.
President Trump added Yemen to the travel ban he imposed last year, tightening restrictions on entry into the country.
However, the cancellation of TPS was particularly unpleasant for many local residents. This is because the beneficiaries of this status are already in the United States and it may not be safe for them to return to Yemen.
According to DHS, a country can be designated as TPS due to conditions that “temporarily prevent its nationals from returning safely.”
Such situations include political instability, war, humanitarian crises, and natural disasters. This status is granted to people who are not permanent residents of the United States, such as tourists and visitors.
Situation in Yemen
Yemen was first designated as a TPS in 2015 at the height of its civil war, and its status has been repeatedly renewed.
“After reviewing the domestic situation and consulting with the appropriate government agencies in the United States, we have determined that Yemen no longer meets the law’s requirements for Temporary Protected Status designation,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement Friday.
“Allowing Yemeni TPS beneficiaries to remain in the United States temporarily is contrary to our national interests. TPS was designed to be temporary, and this administration is seeking to return TPS to its original temporary purpose. We prioritize our national security interests and put America first.”
As of September 2024, when Yemen was last redesignated as TPS, there were 2,300 Yemeni beneficiaries.
Noem’s announcement did not provide details on how Yemenis, many of whom work and pay taxes, would be allowed to retain their status against U.S. interests or how the situation in Yemen would be assessed.
There has been a fragile ceasefire between Yemen’s Houthis and the internationally recognized government since 2022. However, violence continues to erupt across the country.
Last year, Israel and the United States repeatedly bombed Yemen as part of operations against the Houthis.
Clashes continue between the government and separatist forces in the south of the country.
According to UN data from last year, more than 4.5 million people are internally displaced in Yemen, and 18.2 million people, more than half the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Amer Ghalib, a former mayor of Hamtramck, a Muslim-majority city near Detroit who campaigned for Trump in 2024 and was later nominated by the U.S. president to be ambassador to Kuwait, called TPS’ decision “very disappointing.”
“I have spoken to multiple White House officials and explained the situation, but they don’t seem to be considering anything,” Gharib told Al Jazeera in a statement.
“We hope the administration reevaluates the situation in Yemen and considers the risks they face if they are sent back at this time. There are only a few thousand of them compared to hundreds of thousands in other countries.”
DHS did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.
“People are very devastated.”
Mr. Ghalib led a major shift in Arab society toward Mr. Trump, increasing the popularity of Republican leaders and winning Michigan in 2024.
In the South End neighborhood of Dearborn, Michigan, which has a majority Yemeni-American population, Trump’s vote share increased from less than 11% in 2020 to about 55% in 2024.
“People feel betrayed. They feel betrayed,” said Wali Al-Tahif, a Yemeni-American activist in Dearborn, adding that the decision to rescind TPS for Yemen will likely separate families in the community.
“There was an expectation that he would bring a different direction, a different policy towards Yemen and the Yemeni community, but we saw the opposite, the complete opposite.”
Beyond the threat of war, Al-Tahif expressed concern that TPS holders could face harassment and persecution in Yemen due to regional divisions and perceived ties to the United States.
He stressed that the policy of nullifying TPS for Yemen is unjust. “It’s discriminatory. It’s racist. It’s un-American.”
The Trump administration has rolled back TPS protections, including in Haiti, which suffers from widespread gang violence.
But some of Noem’s moves to eliminate immigration protections have been challenged in court. And Yemeni community advocates said they are exploring legal avenues to reinstate TPS in Yemen.
Rayyad Nagy, a New York immigration lawyer, said the lawsuit will examine how DHS assessed the situation in the country and whether appropriate steps were taken in reaching the decision to rescind TPS for Yemen.
He noted that the State Department still has a “do not travel” advisory for Yemen “due to terrorism, insurgency, crime, health risks, kidnapping, and landmine risks.”
Nagy told Al Jazeera that while the number of TPS holders affected may seem small, the impact of the Trump administration’s decision will be felt by their families, employers and the broader community.
“A lot of people are very devastated,” he said. “We’re hearing from TPS holders themselves. They’re very scared, they’re very worried. They don’t know what lies ahead.”
