Trump to end temporary status protecting Somali immigrants | Kuwait Times Newspaper
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced he will end the temporary status protecting Somali immigrants in Minnesota from deportation, claiming on Friday that his latest cut to refugee programs was a crime prevention measure.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he was “hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota,” while accusing “Somali gangs” of harming locals. “Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!” he added.
TPS protects its holders from deportation and allows them to work. It is granted to people deemed to be in danger if they return to their home countries because of war, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances. The midwestern state of Minnesota hosts one of the largest Somali populations outside of the eastern African nation, which has endured decades of conflict.
According to the Congressional record, around 705 Somali individuals have approved TPS applications as of March 31, and “DHS estimated that approximately 4,300 individuals may become newly eligible for TPS” were it to be extended.
TPS was initially granted to Somalis in 1991, and most recently extended in July 2024 “due to conditions in Somalia that prevent individuals from safely returning,” according to the Department of Homeland Security. After a brutal civil war in the 1990s, Somalia has been fighting Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group Al-Shabaab since the mid-2000s. The militants launched a new offensive early this year. The Trump administration, which is carrying out a sweeping immigration crackdown, has also moved to strip TPS for Afghans, Haitians, South Sudan, Venezuelans and nationals of several other countries.
The immigration crackdown has faced numerous legal challenges, and Trump’s latest TPS dictate is likewise expected to go to court. Under a separate new policy, the United States would slash the number of refugees it admits to 7,500 in fiscal 2026, down from more than 100,000 a year under Democratic president Joe Biden.
In his post targeting Somalis on Friday, Trump also slammed Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz, accusing him of “laundering activity,” without offering evidence. Trump has also frequently mocked Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, urging the Somalia-born Democrat to “go back!” to the country.
Meanwhile, Sweden on Thursday charged a 23-year-old Swedish-Syrian man with several “terrorist crimes”, including attempts to travel to Somalia to join the Islamic State (IS) group, prosecutors said. He is also accused of both financing and attempting to finance IS through cryptocurrencies, as well as being a member of the organization, according to the charge sheet. On September 4, 2023, he made his first attempt to travel to Somalia, the prosecution said.
On March 18 the following year, he made another attempt via Saudi Arabia.
“In both cases, he was arrested. The first time by Ethiopian authorities near the Somali border. And the second time by Somali authorities,” prosecutor Carl Mellberg told AFP. However, the prosecutor said it had not been possible to establish exactly what his plans had been.
“Since he never reached his destination, we cannot say exactly what his role would have been there. But, in any case, it was an active role within IS, that wasn’t about anything less than joining their ranks,” Mellberg explained. The accused had also received instructions on the manufacture and use of explosives “specifically intended for use in terrorist acts”, according to the charge sheet.
The man resides in southern Sweden and is friends with another 22-year-old man who was convicted in mid-February for, among other things, foreign travel for terrorism purposes, including some trips they had planned together. The trial will begin on December 3 and will last three days at the Attunda district court. IS has a relatively small presence in Somalia compared to the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab, but experts have warned of growing activity. – AFP