‘Bigoted attack’: Advocates slam Trump administration for ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalis

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) slammed the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Somalis as “unjustifiable.”

The Trump administration has ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali migrants, an escalation of its targeting of individuals from the East African country living in the United States. According to the American Immigration Council, TPS is “a temporary immigration status provided to nationals of certain countries experiencing problems that make it difficult or unsafe for their nationals to be deported there.”

The not-surprising TPS termination for Somalis was announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday, effective March 17.

“Temporary means temporary. Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status,” Noem said in a statement. “Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first.”

The news comes as the Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal law enforcement officers to Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has the highest population of Somalis in the United States. Somali communities in the Twin Cities have been a frequent focus of President Donald Trump following numerous cases of years-long fraud of federal funds by some Somali migrants. Trump has gone as far as to call Somali communities “garbage.”

“We’re cracking down on the Somali scams, ending the brazen and shameless theft of taxpayer dollars,” Trump said on Tuesday while delivering remarks on the economy in Detroit.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) slammed the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS for Somalis as “unjustifiable” and a “bigoted attack.”

“We were not surprised by this decision, but we are deeply alarmed by what it represents. The Somali TPS program affects fewer than a thousand people, yet its termination carries enormous consequences for families who have lived and worked lawfully in this country for decades,” said the advocacy group.

CAIR called out what it sees as hypocrisy, considering the U.S. State Department has designated Somalia as a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ country due to “the lack of basic security conditions that would place returning Somali TPS holders at constant risk through no fault of their own.”

“Somalia remains a country that has endured decades of civil war, ongoing instability, and persistent threats from armed groups. Conditions on the ground have not meaningfully improved,” the group explained.

“Ending Somali TPS defies both logic and the basic purpose of the program. This decision does not reflect changed conditions in Somalia. It reflects a political choice to abandon Somali families who were promised protection under U.S. law. By dismantling protections for one of the most vulnerable Black and Muslim communities, this decision exposes an agenda rooted in exclusion, not public safety.”