Somali Immigrants Face Deportation in 60 Days as US Ends Temporary Protected Status

The United States government has announced plans to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Somali immigrants, giving affected individuals 60 days to leave the country or face possible deportation.

The decision, announced by the Donald Trump administration, means Somali nationals who have been living and working legally in the US under TPS will lose their protection starting March 17, unless the move is blocked by the courts.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration had determined that Somalia no longer meets the legal threshold for the programme.

TPS shields immigrants from deportation when their home countries are considered unsafe due to war, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. Once the designation is lifted, beneficiaries lose their legal status and work authorisation.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, about 2,471Somali nationals are currently protected under TPS, with an additional 1,383 applications still pending, and those affected are required to leave the US by 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. Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first,” Noem said in a statement toABC News.

The move follows repeated criticism of Somali immigrants by Trump, who has publicly stated that he does not want them in the United States and has intensified immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota, home to the largest Somali diaspora in the country.

Trump last month described Somalia as “barely a country” and has previously made inflammatory remarks about Somali migrants during public addresses and campaign-style appearances.

The Department of Homeland Security also drew attention online after responding to the announcement with an image of Trump carrying the caption: “I am the captain now,” a post that drew sharp criticism from immigrant rights groups.

The decisioncomes amid an increased federal immigration presence in Minnesota, where the administration last month announced a surge of immigration officers, citing national security and fraud concerns linked to the childcare sector, according to theBBC.

TPS for Somalia was first granted in 1991 by President George H W Bush following the outbreak of civil war and has been renewed multiple times by both Republican and Democratic administrations, most recently by the Biden administration for the maximum 18 months.

The Trump administration has also moved to end TPS protections for nationals from Venezuela, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Nepal, with several of those decisions facing legal challenges, including a court ruling last year that blocked the termination of TPS for Haitians and Venezuelans.