President Donald Trump said Friday night that he is “immediately” ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali migrants living in Minnesota, escalating his administration’s push to roll back policies that limit deportations.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States, built largely by families who fled Somalia’s long-running civil war and resettled in the state over decades. Still, the practical impact of Trump’s move may be limited: an August congressional report estimated that only about 705 Somalis nationwide currently receive TPS.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to shield people from deportation to countries facing war, natural disasters, or other severe dangers. The designation is issued by the secretary of Homeland Security and is typically renewed in 18-month periods.
Trump announced his decision on social media, arguing that Minnesota has become “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.” He also claimed that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from,” adding, “It’s OVER!”
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the decision, warning it “will tear families apart.” Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said the move was more than administrative, calling it a political attack on Somali and Muslim residents fueled by Islamophobic rhetoric.
During last year’s campaign, Trump pledged to deport millions of people as part of a broader crackdown on immigration. Since returning to office, his administration has worked to withdraw or narrow several forms of legal protection that allow migrants to live and work in the U.S. That effort has included ending TPS for roughly 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians who received protections under President Joe Biden, and attempting to scale back protections for migrants from countries including Cuba and Syria.
