Cameroon nationals living in the United States since April 14 are now eligible to stay and work in the U.S. for at least another year and a half, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week.

DHS designated Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, beginning April 15, the department announced at the time. DHS cited ongoing armed conflicts and "extraordinary and temporary conditions" in the west-central African country for the TPS determination, the announcement states. 

Individuals granted TPS cannot be removed from the U.S., can obtain employment authorization, and can travel freely, according to the DHS. 

“Cameroonian nationals currently residing in the U.S. who cannot safely return due to the extreme violence perpetrated by government forces and armed separatists, and a rise in attacks led by Boko Haram, will be able to remain and work in the United States until conditions in their home country improve,” DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in the announcement.

DHS grants TPS status to a country based on one or more criteria: "ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions," the agency states in the report. Conditions in Cameroon are deemed extraordinary and temporary due to ongoing armed conflicts keeping people from or permanently living in Cameroon from going back, DHS states.

"The conditions result from the extreme violence between government forces and armed separatists and a significant rise in attacks from Boko Haram," DHS states in the report, "the combination of which has triggered a humanitarian crisis."

DHS reports hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians have been displaced by the violence and destruction, which has created food insecurity and economic instability and left people in Cameroon without access to critical services such as hospitals.