Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday it will end temporary protected status for immigrants from Somalia, the latest move in the president’s mass deportation agenda.
The move affects hundreds of people who are a small subset of immigrants with TPS protections in the United States. It comes during Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where many native Somalis live and where street protests have intensified since a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed a U.S citizen who was demonstrating against federal presence in the city.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that affected Somalis must leave the U.S. by March 17, when existing protections, last extended by former President Joe Biden, will expire.
“Temporary means temporary,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, adding that the decision puts “Americans first.”
The Congressional Research Service last spring stated the Somali TPS population was 705 out of nearly 1.3 million TPS immigrants, but Trump has rolled back protections across several countries during his presidency.
Congress established the Temporary Protected Status program in 1990 to help foreign nationals fleeing unstable conditions in their home countries. The program allows the executive branch to designate a country so that its citizens are eligible to enter the U.S. and receive status.
Somalia received TPS designation initially under President George H.W. Bush amid a civil war in 1991, with the status being extended numerous times, most recently by Biden in July 2024.
Noem insisted circumstances in Somalia “have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status.” Located in the horn of Africa, Somalia is one of the poorest nations and has faced chronic strife exacerbated by natural disasters, including severe droughts.
Trump's rhetoric regarding Somalis has drawn significant criticism, particularly his broad accusations against Somali immigrants in Minneapolis, labeling them as contributors to societal problems.
