The Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia, requiring thousands of Somali migrants currently living in the United States — including several hundred in Minnesota — to leave the country by March 17.
The decision affects 2,471 Somali nationals currently protected under TPS, according to sources at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with an additional 1,383 individuals holding pending TPS applications. Fox News Digital also learned that an estimated 600 TPS-protected Somali nationals reside in Minnesota.
“Temporary means temporary,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News Digital. “Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status.”
“Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests,” Noem added. “We are putting Americans first.”
Somalia was first designated for TPS in 1991 amid an ongoing civil war, allowing Somali nationals to remain in the United States. due to unsafe conditions in their home country. President Joe Biden most recently extended the designation in September 2024.
The termination of TPS for Somalia comes as DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continue enforcement operations in Minnesota, particularly in the Minneapolis area. Those operations follow revelations of an alleged multi-billion dollar fraud scheme that involved members of the Somali community and targeted state and federal assistance programs.
The policy shift also comes one day after Minneapolis and St. Paul filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in response to what officials described as an unprecedented federal immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities.
“We allege that the obvious targeting of Minnesota for our diversity, for our democracy and our differences of opinion with the federal government is a violation of the Constitution and of federal law,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said during a Monday press conference.
“DHS agents have sown chaos and terror across the metropolitan area,” Ellison added.
Tensions escalated further last week during ICE operations in south Minneapolis, when a woman, later identified as Renee Nicole Good, was fatally shot by an immigration officer. According to DHS footage, Good drove her vehicle toward federal agents after blocking their path.
Noem described Good as a “domestic terrorist,” stating that she weaponized her vehicle during the encounter. Multiple videos show an agent approaching Good’s car and ordering her to exit the vehicle. Noem said Good then attempted to run over an officer, prompting the agent to fire multiple shots into the car, killing the 37-year-old.
The ignited riots and protests across Minneapolis in the days that followed. Agitators erected makeshift barricades, blocked streets, and created a “no-go zone” near the site of the incident.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey responded by telling ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis” during a news conference. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also criticized DHS, posting on X that he had watched the video of the shooting and referring to Noem’s explanation as part of a “propaganda machine.”
Despite the unrest, DHS confirmed that immigration enforcement operations continued throughout the city, leading to further clashes between protesters and federal agents outside ICE facilities.
The decision to end TPS for Somalia underscores the Trump administration’s broader immigration enforcement agenda.
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Great, but that still leaves us with a quarter of a million Somalis.