NAIROBI (Kaab TV) — President Donald Trump plunged hundreds of Somali immigrants into a state of acute uncertainty late Friday by declaring an “immediate” end to their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian program shielding them from deportation since 1991.
The abrupt announcement, made on Truth Social, specifically targeted Somalis living in Minnesota, home to the nation’s largest Somali community.
Trump based the termination on unverified claims, asserting that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people” and that the state is a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” with “BILLIONS of Dollars” missing.
The decision has triggered “panic” among Somali-Americans and their allies, despite the fact that only 705 individuals nationwide currently hold TPS status, most of whom reside in Minnesota.
Kaab TV has been informed that several families in Minnesota have expressed concern as some members of their families, not named here, could be affected by the termination.
Community leaders warn that the action, a clear signal of the administration’s hardline immigration stance, will “tear families apart” and send people back to Somalia, a country the U.S. State Department deems unsafe due to terrorism and civil conflict.
“What this new announcements looks like is probably a new wave of legal battles and threat to families who are at risk of tearing them apart,” said Abdirahman Hussein, a Somali-American activist.
Legal experts and Democratic officials immediately challenged the President’s authority, calling the move:
Immigration lawyers argue there is no mechanism for the President to terminate TPS for only one state or to enact the termination immediately.
The current TPS designation for Somalis, extended by the previous administration, is not set to expire until March 17, 2026. Termination requires a formal process and notice period, which is likely to delay any final revocation.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison confirmed his office is “exploring all of our options,” suggesting a legal challenge to the directive is imminent.
Political Backlash
Minnesota’s Democratic leadership denounced the move as a purely political attack:
Governor Tim Walz (D) stated that Trump’s action was meant to “broadly target an entire community” to “change the subject.”
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) called it “Another late night threat by Donald Trump” and criticized him for “targeting Somalis who have been in our country for years” instead of addressing rising costs.
Furthermore, political strategist Abshir Omar warned that the move could harm the long-term economic and strategic relationship with Somalia, a country that has recently offered the U.S. exclusive control of air bases and ports and expressed interest in oil reserve partnerships.
Despite the limited number of people directly holding TPS, advocates emphasize the decision’s chilling effect on the entire Somali diaspora in the U.S., a community that has spent decades integrating and contributing to American society.
Minnesota is home to the largest concentration of Somalis in the U.S. Most of this population resides in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, with the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis often referred to as “Little Mogadishu” due to its high concentration of Somali-owned businesses and residents.
The community plays a major role in the state’s economy, politics, and culture, with significant purchasing power and hundreds of Somali-owned businesses.