Somali Immigrant Community
Trump administration ends temporary protected status for thousands of Somalis in US
Several thousand Somali nationals currently living in the US must leave the country by March 17
By Preston Mizell Fox News
Published January 13, 2026 8:00am EST | Updated January 13, 2026 8:03am EST
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is ending temporary protection status (TPS) for Somalia, affecting several thousand Somalis currently living in the U.S. and several hundred currently living in Minnesota under the protection.
Somali migrants with TPS will be required to leave the country by March 17.
"Temporary means temporary," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News Digital in a statement. "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," Noem added. "We are putting Americans first."
Sources at USCIS told Fox News Digital that there are 2,471 Somali nationals currently in the U.S. under TPS, with 1,383 in the country with pending TPS applications.
The move comes as DHS continues ICE operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after a widespread roughly $9 billion fraud scheme involving members of the Somali community plagued the state.
Fox News Digital learned that an estimated 600 Somali nationals who are protected by TPS live in Minnesota.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-ends-temporary-protected-status-thousands-somalis-us
