Trump claims that Somalis in Minnesota will no longer have temporary deportation protections
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, announced on Friday that he would immediately end temporary deportation protections for Somalis residing in Minnesota, hastening the termination of a program that was started in 1991 by a previous Republican president.
“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing,” Trump said in a late-night post on Truth Social, although he offered no additional justification or supporting documentation.
“I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota,” he stated.
Trump reportedly responded to unconfirmed media claims that the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab had profited from fraud in Minnesota by calling the state a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” under Democratic Governor Tim Walz.
On X, Walz retorted, “The President’s decision to broadly target a whole population is not shocking. This is how he shifts the conversation.
Then-President George H.W. Bush started the TPS program for Somalis in September 1991. It provides government protection to qualified foreign-born people who are unable to safely return home because of natural disasters or civil wars.
The Trump administration has declared that it is ending TPS designations for a number of nations, including Venezuela and Nicaragua, while 17 nations are still eligible.
In the administration of Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Somalis’ eligibility was extended until March 17, 2026. According to a research by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, just 705 Somali-born people countrywide have TPS status, while the majority of Somalis in Minnesota are citizens of the United States.
Comparatively, more than 170,000 El Salvadorians and more than 330,000 Haitians are TPS holders.
The Somalis in question were lawful migrants, therefore Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota, said Trump’s decision was regrettable and might split families.
This is a political football being played against the Muslim community, and these legal immigrants shouldn’t have to suffer as a result. He stated, “These people have been abiding by the law.”
A legal appeal to the ruling is anticipated, according to political consultant Abshir Omar, who supported Trump in the 2024 presidential race. The long-term economic and strategic relationship with Somalia, which in March granted the United States exclusive control of air bases and ports and has indicated interest in forming alliances with American companies to explore its vast oil reserves, might be harmed, he warned.
