Trump Admin Ends Temporary Protected Status for Thousands of Somalis, Citing National Interest and Fraud Concerns

The Trump administration has officially terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Somali nationals living in the United States, with a hard deadline of March 17 to leave the country. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the announcement Tuesday, saying the original designation had outlived its purpose.

“Temporary means temporary,” 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.”

According to Homeland Security data, roughly 2,471 Somali nationals are currently protected under the TPS program, with an estimated 600 living in Minnesota alone. An additional 1,383 applications are pending, but they are unlikely to be approved under the administration’s updated guidance. Those who fail to leave by the March deadline are expected to be subject to federal immigration enforcement.

The move comes as tensions escalate between the Trump administration and officials in Minnesota, who on Monday filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the recent surge in ICE personnel and deportation actions. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison claimed the influx of federal agents represented a “targeted political retaliation” for the state’s progressive politics and diverse population.

“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,” Ellison said at a press conference.

Tensions reached a boiling point after 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent during an attempted blockade of a deportation convoy in Minneapolis. The Trump administration has labeled Good’s actions as “domestic terrorism,” noting that she was affiliated with ICE Watch, a group that tracks and confronts immigration enforcement officers.

Video footage appears to show Good using her vehicle to block agents before putting it in reverse and then accelerating forward. The agent involved was reportedly struck by the car moments before opening fire.

Beyond immigration enforcement, federal attention has increasingly focused on Minnesota’s Somali community due to a sprawling welfare fraud scandal. According to recent reports, an estimated $9 billion in taxpayer funds were funneled through fraudulent nonprofits and shell companies — some of which allegedly sent money back to Somalia and potentially even to the terrorist group Al-Shabaab.

The administration’s actions have sparked outrage among progressives but are seen by many conservatives as a long-overdue crackdown on fraud, abuse, and national security threats. President Trump has consistently argued that TPS programs have been exploited and that communities such as Minneapolis have become “hotbeds of corruption” due to lax enforcement and politically motivated sanctuary policies.

As the March 17 deadline approaches, the administration appears committed to ramping up deportations, undeterred by lawsuits or political backlash from Democrat-led states.