Trump's Somali Protection Termination Sparks Legal and Community Concerns

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, United States: In the heart of America's largest Somali community, families who fled decades of civil war now face renewed uncertainty after President Donald Trump announced he would "immediately" terminate their temporary legal protections. The decision, announced via social media late Friday, targets Somali migrants living in Minnesota under the Temporary Protected Status programme, a move that legal experts question and community leaders describe as politically motivated.

Trump's declaration on Truth Social claimed Minnesota was "a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity" and alleged "Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State." The announcement drew immediate condemnation from state officials and immigration advocates who characterised it as legally dubious and driven by anti-Muslim sentiment.

"There's no legal mechanism that allows the president to terminate protected status for a particular community or state that he has beef with," said Heidi Altman, vice president of policy at the National Immigration Law Center. "This is Trump doing what he always does: demagoguing immigrants without justification or evidence."

The practical impact may be limited, however. A congressional report from August indicated only 705 Somalis nationwide benefit from TPS protections, a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands of Somalis living in Minnesota. Many have become citizens or hold other legal status.

Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, herself a Somali immigrant, responded on social media: "I am a citizen and so are the majority of Somalis in America. Good luck celebrating a policy change that really doesn't have much impact on the Somalis you love to hate."

Still, advocates warn the announcement could inflame hate against a community already facing rising Islamophobia. "This is not just a bureaucratic change," said Jaylani Hussein, president of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "It is a political attack on the Somali and Muslim community driven by Islamophobic and hateful rhetoric."

The TPS programme, created by Congress in 1990, prevents deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil strife or dangerous conditions. Somalia has qualified for protection since 1991, with the status extended 27 times as the country remains one of the world's most dangerous nations, plagued by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab militant group.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, noted his state consistently ranks among America's safest. "It's not surprising that the President has chosen to broadly target an entire community," Walz said. "This is what he does to change the subject."

The Trump administration has until mid-January to formally revoke TPS protections for Somalis nationally. This move follows broader immigration policy shifts that have ended protections for 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians who received status under President Joe Biden, while also limiting protections for migrants from Cuba and Syria.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office was "exploring all of our options," adding that Trump "cannot terminate TPS for just one state or on a bigoted whim." Community advocates emphasise the Somali diaspora's contributions to revitalising Minneapolis neighbourhoods and their prominent role in state politics.

"The truth is that the Somali community is beloved and long-woven into the fabric of many neighbourhoods and communities in Minnesota," Altman concluded. "Destabilising families and communities makes all of us less safe and not more."

United States | Politics, Immigration, Human Rights | |