Trump administration ends temporary protected status for Somalis in US

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.

The 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”.

“We are putting Americans first,” she added.

Donald Trump had first announced his intentions to end protection for Somali nationals in November, writing on Truth Social about Minnesota, which is home to a large Somali community: “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 Trump administration has used Minnesota’s issues with fraud as a pretext to send a surge of immigration officers into the state. Trump has called Somalis “garbage” and referenced unverified reports, amplified by Republican lawmakers, suggesting the militant group al-Shabaab in Somalia benefited from fraud committed in Minnesota, though these claims still have not been substantiated.

The decision to withdraw TPS for Somalis in the US, first reported by Fox News Digital, affects 705 Somali nationals currently holding TPS, according to official US Citizenship and Immigration Services data as of August 2025. They have until 17 March before their status expires. Anonymous immigration sources cited higher figures to Fox News of about 2,471 current beneficiaries and another 1,383 applications.

TPS is granted by the Department of Homeland Security to foreign nationals who cannot safely return to their home countries due to armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances. The protection allows individuals to live and work legally in the US until conditions improve in their homeland.

Somalis were first granted TPS by the administration of George HW Bush in 1991 during Somalia’s civil war. The status has been repeatedly renewed by successive administrations, most recently by Joe Biden in September 2024, who extended it through March 2026.

Somalia remains plagued by persistent violence from al-Shabaab militants, severe drought conditions and widespread humanitarian crises that have displaced millions of people internally, according to UN reports. Human rights organizations have warned that returning Somali nationals to the country could place them at severe risk.