President Donald Trump is ordering thousands of Somalis to leave the US. The White House is ending Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Somalia, meaning thousands of Somalis in the US under that program must leave, after an alleged fraud scheme exploded in Minnesota and made national headlines. Those affected must leave the country by March 17. There are roughly 2,500 Somalis in the US under TPS, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources revealed to Fox News. Just under 1,400 of those are in the country with pending applications.
Somalia’s Long History of Instability and Crisis
An estimated 24 percent of them reside in Minnesota, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been carrying out deportation operations in recent weeks. Somalia is one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the world, which has been destabilized by clan division, insurgent groups and humanitarian crises since the central government there collapsed in the early 1990s. Following the collapse of the government in January 1991, Somalia was given TPS. Former President Joe Biden renewed that status in 2024.
The move from the Trump administration to wipe protections from Somalis in the US comes after at least 85 Somali individuals in Minnesota have been charged in fraud-related cases. ‘They stole $18 billion, that’s just what we’re learning about,’ Trump said of the Minnesota fraud. Minnesota’s Somali community has been under scrutiny over the fraud scandal that has enveloped state leaders.
Political Fallout in Minnesota After Deportation Backlash
The outcry prompted Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz to drop his reelection bid, which he did last week, before an ICE officer shot an unarmed woman, further propelling Minnesota into the news. ‘We’re getting rid of a lot of people that are criminals that shouldn’t be in our country,’ Trump said of his deportation efforts on Tuesday morning. ‘They came in through Biden’s open borders, and we’re getting them out of our country. That’s why our crime numbers are so good. We have record-low crime numbers.’
Somalians were viewed least favorably compared to other immigrant groups in the J.L. Partners poll. In fact, they were the only group that polled in negative territory. Thirty percent of registered voters said Somali immigrants made a bad impact on the United States. That’s higher than the 24 percent who said they made a good impact and the 29 percent who viewed the community neutrally.
Haitians, Colombians, Venezuelans, Chinese, Africans, Filipinos, Mexicans, Indians, British and Europeans all polled more positively. For years, President Donald Trump has slammed Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, the highest-profile member of the community, mocking her at a rally-like event in Pennsylvania in December for wearing a ‘little turban.’
