THND Staff | 22 November 2025, 22:15 IST
In a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration policy, President Donald Trump announced on 21 November 2025 that the federal government is terminating the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali nationals living in Minnesota — a program granted to individuals from countries experiencing conflict or disaster.
Trump published the decision in a post on his social-media platform, stating: “Minnesota, under Governor Walz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity … Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. I am … hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota.”
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali-American community in the United States. The TPS program for Somalis was most recently extended by the previous administration through March 2026, protecting hundreds of individuals who arrived during Somalia’s civil war.
Civil-rights groups immediately condemned the move. The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American‑Islamic Relations stated the decision “will tear families apart” and accused the President of targeting an entire community.
Legal analysts point out serious questions about the legality of ending TPS for a specific state and community, especially given that many Somali Minnesotans are U.S. citizens and not covered by TPS themselves.
This step adds to Trump’s hard-line immigration posture and is expected to prompt lawsuits, given previous federal court challenges to blanket or selective policy changes under the TPS regime.
