US ends temporary protected status for Somali nationals

The Trump administration is terminating temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalis living in the United States, giving hundreds of people two months to leave the country or face deportation. Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that conditions in the east African country had improved sufficiently and that Somalis no longer qualified for the designation under federal law.

"Temporary means temporary," Noem wrote, adding that allowing Somali nationals to remain was "contrary to our national interests" and saying "We are putting Americans first." Donald Trump first announced his intentions to end protection for Somali nationals in November on Truth Social, writing about Minnesota: "Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing.

Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!" The administration has sent a surge of immigration officers into Minnesota, and the source says Trump has called Somalis "garbage" and referenced unverified reports, amplified by Republican lawmakers, that al-Shabaab benefited from fraud in Minnesota, though those claims have not been substantiated.

Key Topics

Politics, Temporary Protected Status, Somalia, Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, Donald Trump