US ends protection for Somalis amid escalating migrant crackdown

The United States said on Tuesday it would end a special protected status for Somalis, telling them they must leave the country by mid-March.

There is a large Somali community in Minnesota, the mid-western US state at the forefront of raids and searches by immigration officers.

In recent weeks Washington has targeted Somali immigrants, alleging public benefit fraud in Minnesota's Somali community, the largest in the country with around 80,000 members.

The Department of Homeland Security said on X it was "ENDING Temporary Protected Status for Somalians in the United States."

Trump's post

"Our message is clear. Go back to your own country, or we'll send you back ourselves," it said.

"Temporary Protected Status" (TPS) shields certain foreigners from deportation to disaster zones and allows them the right to work.

In November 2025, US President Donald Trump wrote on social media: "I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota."

On Tuesday, the president took to his Truth Social channel to criticise Democrats who lead Minneapolis, its twin city of St. Paul, and Minnesota.

Migrant pursuit

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), meanwhile, has kept up its large-scale migrant pursuit across Minnesota, including the city of Detroit Lakes on Monday.

The Minneapolis Police Department said its overtime bill between January 8 and January 11 was $2 million.

That period marked the height of anti-ICE protests sparked by the dramatic killing of a woman, which was filmed and widely shared online.

Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot dead in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis last Wednesday.

Protests

Students have protested against the situation in Minnesota, including in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove, local media reported.

Federal charges have been filed against 98 people accused of embezzlement of public funds in Minnesota.

Fifty-seven people have already been convicted in the scheme to divert $300 million in public grants intended to distribute free meals to children – but the meals never existed, prosecutors said.