Minnesota faith leaders, politicians and community activists are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s threat to end temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota.
The move, which would affect a little over 400 Somalis in Minnesota, is likely illegal, Attorney General Keith Ellison said Monday. And it has led to a sense that the entire community is in the crosshairs.
On Sunday, a gathering at Karmel Mall drew more than 200 faith leaders and community members who decried the escalation in Islamophobic rhetoric Trump’s posts provoke and the harm to families if TPS recipients are forced to leave the lives they have built in the U.S.
“As Minnesotans, we are greater than fear,” Khalid Omar, an organizer with the interfaith group Isaiah, told the crowd. “Somalis know what a dictator looks like, and Trump is a dictator, and he’s not going to pit us against each other because we are one.”
He emphasized that the Somali community is being “scapegoated” to distract from “the real issue” that is the affordability crisis in the state.
The Somali community was joined by fellow Minnesotans who also decried Trump’s statement that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State” without offering evidence.
A 2023 report found that roughly 430 of the 80,000 Somalis in Minnesota have TPS. Roughly 700 Somalis across the country have TPS today, according to the National Immigration Forum. The current designation is set to expire on March 12, 2026, and recipients have a 60-day grace period after it ends to find another status to remain in the country.
The Department of Homeland Security has not yet issued any orders to terminate TPS for Somalis. On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of TPS for people from Burma (Myanmar); earlier this month, she terminated TPS for people from South Sudan.
Somali citizens were granted protected status in 1991 under the administration of George W. Bush, following the full-blown civil war in Somalia sparked by the collapse of Siad Barre’s regime. The war, which is ongoing, has killed and displaced thousands. Some regions of Somalia continue to see violent clashes mainly between the Federal Government of Somalia and the militant group Al-Shabab.
The impact of revoking TPS for Somalis would be “catastrophic,” said Malika Dahir, executive director of Reviving Sisterhood, an organization that amplifies the voice and power of Muslim women. “We fled an incredible civil war that displaced families. And you know, 30-some odd years later, some families are still getting reunited. So it would be uprooting people who have been here for over 30 years. In some cases, it would be dividing families, tearing them apart.”
“This community is incredibly vibrant, and we’re part and parcel of every aspect of it, whether as teachers, as doctors, as lawyers, as business owners. … We are contributors to this economy.”
State Sen. Omar Fateh, who represents District 62 where Karmel Mall is located, also attended the event. “We’ve seen a consistent pattern with the president,” he told Sahan Journal. “He also has some confusion about what his powers are or not, but we see it for what it is.”
Fateh, who faced Islamophobic threats during his recent campaign against incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, said that this move stirs concerns about Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment. Fateh called for the local, county, and state government to stand together. “We [have] got to make sure that we’re building our front line of defense,” he said.
For state Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, this move has repercussions beyond anyone’s immigration status. “It’s about the rhetoric that’s been coming out of his office since 2016,” she said. “This community has faced Islamophobia in the Muslim ban, and we’ve lived through it, and we understood him coming into office, what we were going to get.”
“Minnesotans should understand that today it’s Somalis, and tomorrow it is your community,” Mohamed said.
Scores of Minnesota officials gathered Monday at the State Capitol to denounce Trump’s call.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said that Trump lacks the authority to remove TPS status. “If you are confused, if you feel threatened, know that the law is on your side,” Omar said.
Omar told Sahan Journal her office hasn’t heard yet from constituents who have TPS. The number of people impacted by the specific policy Trump is advocating is small, she said, but it is causing panic in the community.
Omar decried the way Trump’s post portrayed the entire Somali community in a negative light over the actions of a small group of people who have been convicted of fraud. She said that Trump has not shown any evidence that money stolen from taxpayers went to fund terrorism.
“That language is dangerous. That language puts the lives of Somalis — not only in Minnesota, but across the country — at risk,” Omar said.
“We aren’t destroying this nation, we are helping it thrive,” Omar said.
Habon Abdulle, executive director of the nonprofit Ayada Leads, said TPS is a program that offers a lifeline to people fleeing conflict, disasters and other crises
“Temporary Protected Status is not a loophole or a favor, it’s a humanitarian commitment,” Habon Abdulle said.
Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office is looking at all possible legal options to challenge Trump. The administration has moved to end TPS protections for several nationalities, which has led to several court battles. This month, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from stripping TPS protections from more than 6,000 Syrians living in the United States.
Ellison also noted that the federal government currently advises against citizens traveling to Somalia due to violence.
“Somehow the Trump administration wants to claim Somalia is unsafe to visit but it’s safe for TPS recipients to return,” Ellison said.
Trump’s call to strip TPS status from Somalis in Minnesota is grounded in bigotry, not law and facts, said Claudia Lainez, who runs a worker center for the Latino advocacy group COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Accion Latina). Lainez, a TPS recipient from El Salvador, called for immigrants of all backgrounds to stand with Somalis.
“To every TPS community, we will defend one another, we will keep each other safe,” Lainez said.
Many fear Trump’s post could inspire violence against the Somali community. Imam Yusuf Abdulle, executive director of the Islamic Association of North America, said Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric helped inspire the 2017 firebombing of Dar Al-Farooq, a large mosque in Bloomington.
“The same rhetoric was repeated last Friday, which could result, God forbid, in another attack against our community,” Yusuf Abdulle said. “We as Minnesotans are greater than division, greater than being pitted against each other, pitted against our neighbors — we are much greater than that.”
At a news conference Monday morning, Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Minnesota, highlighted the rising tide of Islamophobia across the U.S. He added that community safety is critical at this time, and that CAIR has asked mosques as well as community members to be “vigilant” and said that political violence is a possibility in such a moment. “This is just the beginning; we are asking the community to brace themselves,” he said.
“Sadly, this is an open invitation for ICE and the National Guard to come to our community, said Michelle Gross, founder of Communities United Against Police Brutality.
Alec Shaw, CAIR’s Civil Rights Director, said this is “cause for concern, not for panic,” and urged community members on TPS to reach out to CAIR should they need legal support. He added that CAIR will be providing know-your-rights and training sessions for the community.
