The Trump administration is pulling deportation protections for thousands of Somalis as the community remains engulfed in growing fraud scandals.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali nationals living in the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Tuesday morning. The decision follows intense national scrutiny of the Somali community, particularly in Minnesota, where many members are accused of stealing millions in taxpayer funds through sophisticated fraud schemes.
“Temporary means temporary,” Noem said in a public statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “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,” the DHS chief continued. “We are putting Americans first.”
Nearly 80,000 Somalis live in Minnesota alone, with over half of them being foreign-born, according to the Minnesota Compass. A majority of the community lives in the Minneapolis region.
There are a total of 2,471 Somali nationals throughout the U.S. living under TPS, an official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Another 1,383 are in the country with pending TPS applications.
A federal authority first established in the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS grants sweeping deportation protections and work eligibility to foreigners living in the U.S., including illegal migrants, whose home countries are experiencing any number of conflicts or devastating natural disasters, making it potentially dangerous for them to return, according to USCIS.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, DHS has ended or attempted to end TPS for several countries, such as Venezuela, Honduras and Nicaragua, Haiti, Nepal, Ukraine and other countries.
Minnesota has been subject to intense media scrutiny ever since reporting in late 2025 revealed that millions of dollars in taxpayer money had been stolen through an orchestrated scheme of bogus non-profit groups across the state, with most of the alleged perpetrators being of Somali origin. The prevalence of Somali-related fraud in the state was further realized after an independent journalist allegedly uncovered a string of fake daycare centers raking in taxpayer funding.
The growing scandal forced Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to abruptly end his bid for a third term in office. In a public speech announcing his decision, Walz attempted to blame Trump for the growing scandal, claiming that the president and his allies “want to make our state a colder, meaner place.”
DHS is currently overseeing a deployment surge in the Minneapolis region, with hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents arresting illegal migrants. Numerous child rapists, murderers and other illegal migrant convicted criminals have been arrested by deportation officers.
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