The US Tuesday said it would end a special protected status for Somalis, telling them they must leave the country by mid-March under an escalating crackdown on the community.
There is a large Somali community in Minnesota, the midwestern US state at the forefront of raids and searches by immigration officers, one of whom shot and killed a local woman last week, sparking protests.
In recent weeks Washington has lashed out at Somali immigrants, alleging large-scale public benefit fraud in Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the country with around 80,000 members.
The department of homeland security said on X it was “ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalians in the US”.
“Our message is clear. Go back to your own country, or we’ll send you back ourselves,” it said.
“Temporary Protected Status” (TPS) shields certain foreigners from deportation to disaster zones and allows them the right to work.
In November 2025, US President Donald Trump wrote on social media: “I am, as president of the US, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Programme) for Somalis in Minnesota.”
The Republican president Tuesday took to his Truth Social channel to attack Democrats who lead Minneapolis, its twin city of St. Paul, and Minnesota.
“Minnesota Democrats love the unrest that anarchists and professional agitators are causing because it gets the spotlight off of the $19bn that was stolen by really bad and deranged people,” Trump wrote.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) meanwhile has kept up its large-scale migrant sweeps across Minnesota, including the city of Detroit Lakes.
The Minneapolis police department said its overtime bill between January 8 and January 11 was $2mn. That period marked the height of anti-ICE protests sparked by the dramatic killing, which was filmed and widely shared online.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot dead in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis last Wednesday.
Students have protested against the situation in Minnesota, including in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove, local media reported.
The Trump administration in recent months has latched onto news of a large-scale public benefit fraud scandal to carry out immigration raids and harsher policies targeting Minnesota’s Somali community.
