Trump Administration Ends Temporary Protected Status for Somalis

The Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalia, with holders set to lose their legal status and work permits on March 17, officials confirmed on Tuesday, CBS News and NBC News reported.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the decision on X, NBC News reported, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted that “Somali nationals with TPS are now required to leave the United States by March 17, 2026.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said, according to CBS News: “Temporary means temporary.” She said conditions in Somalia “have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement,” and that letting Somali nationals remain “is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first.”

CBS News reported that a Department of Homeland Security official said roughly 2,500 Somali immigrants with TPS or pending applications are expected to be affected. A federal notice said 1,082 Somalis were enrolled as of Dec. 8 and another 1,383 had applied, CBS News reported. The administration has urged TPS holders whose status lapses to leave on their own, warning that they will be found, arrested and deported otherwise.

TPS dates to 1990, when Congress created it to give a temporary safe haven to people from countries facing armed conflict, environmental disaster or other emergencies, CBS News explained. The second Trump administration has sought to end most TPS programs, which expanded under former President Joe Biden. Fox News was first to report the decision, NBC News said.

The decision comes amid a sharp focus on Somalis. Trump has said “the Somalians should be out of here,” NBC News reported, and at a December Cabinet meeting he said, “I don’t want them in our country. I’ll be honest with you,” CBS News reported. Both outlets tied the administration’s attention to Minnesota, which CBS News said has the largest Somali immigrant and Somali-American community in the country, where officials point to a large fraud scandal in which many of those accused are of Somali descent. CBS News said the deployment of immigration agents there has led to clashes and protests, especially after an ICE officer killed a woman in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. CBS News said the administration has deployed thousands of federal immigration agents to the Minneapolis area, and that Trump called people from Somalia “garbage” at the December meeting.