The United States said Tuesday it will end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis, ordering those covered to leave the country by March 17. The move strikes Minnesota hardest, where the nation’s largest Somali community lives under intensifying immigration enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the decision online, warning that people must depart or face deportation. Raids have expanded across Minnesota in recent weeks, with state officials saying about 2,000 people have been arrested.
Tensions escalated after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, 37, in Minneapolis last week, triggering protests. Three federal prosecutors reportedly resigned after pressure over how the investigation into her death was handled.
The Trump administration has linked the crackdown to a major public benefit fraud case involving Minnesota’s Somali community. Federal prosecutors have charged 98 people in an alleged scheme to divert $300 million in public funds.
President Donald Trump accused Minnesota’s Democratic leaders of hiding corruption, promising what he called a “day of reckoning.” Representative Ilhan Omar said the administration is trying to scare Somalis, but insisted the community “is not intimidated.”
Community organiser Mowlid Mohamed told AFP the federal government is targeting Minnesota to display its power. As the March deadline nears, fear and uncertainty spread through communities now facing the threat of sudden exile.