President Trump has moved to end Temporary Protected Status for Somali immigrants with a recent executive order specifically targeting the population in Minnesota.

Trump has criticized Somali immigrants in Minnesota and stated that he doesn’t want them in the United States in general. He cited the removal of TPS as a way to enforce public safety measures for the sake of the American people. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on X that his agency is investigating to identify fraudulent activity in Minnesota related to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab. There is currently no evidence supporting the active presence or funding of Al-Shabaab in the state.

Temporary Protected Status for Somali immigrants, which protects them from deportation and allows them to work legally in the U.S., has been in effect since 1991. Many legal experts raised concerns about the Trump administration’s choice to end TPS, specifically based on his choice to eliminate TPS on a state-by-state case. Under the preexisting federal law, TPS designations apply throughout the nation and are only typically altered through the Department of Homeland Security.

Many Minnesota community leaders warn that this could heighten racial tension and misinformation. Many Minnesota residents, even citizens, reported they feel unsure whether the president’s new policy applied to them such as Edina High school’s cultural liaison Hussien Osman saying that “It has created a lot of fear and a lot of whiplash specifically for small numbers of Somalis who have TPS protection…when you blanket a whole people, a whole community, the fear alone affects everyone”.

In response to Trump’s attack on the Minnesota Somali community, Gov. Walz referenced Trump’s prior remarks last Friday, saying “Donald Trump’s calling our Somali neighbors ‘garbage’ and the state of Minnesota a ‘hellhole’ is, I’m assuming, unprecedented for a United States president. We’ve got little children going to school today who [the president called] ‘garbage.’”