The Department of Homeland Security said today it is ending a form of humanitarian relief for Somali nationals living in the United States.

The Trump administration has stripped deportation protections from multiple nationalities in the US that were allowed to temporarily live in the country, arguing that conditions at home no longer justified those protections. The termination of the relief, known as Temporary Protected Status, has prompted legal challenges nationwide and has been blocked by federal judges in some instances.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as protections for Somalis were set to expire on March 17. During the Biden administration, then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended the program for the community. The department is required to decide whether to extend or terminate TPS at least 60 days prior to the designation’s expiration.

In November, President Donald Trump indicated that he intended to terminate protections for Somali immigrants residing in the US, claiming, “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!”

Somalis, particularly in Minnesota, have faced harassment and threats amid a welfare-fraud scandal that ensnared the community. Nearly 58% of Somalis in Minnesota were born in the US, according to the US Census Bureau. Of the foreign-born Somalis in Minnesota, an overwhelming majority – 87% – are naturalized US citizens.

TPS applies to people who would face extreme hardship if forced to return to homelands devastated by armed conflict or natural disasters, therefore so the protections are limited to people already in the United States.

Past Republican and Democratic administrations have designated the protections, though some Republicans have argued the relief shouldn’t have been extended multiple times.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – ICE officers deployed tear gas during a confrontation with activists just a couple of blocks from the memorial site for Renee Good in Minneapolis.

Protesters clash with police

What we know:

Around 12:45 p.m., federal law enforcement officers were involved in a confrontation with protesters in the area of East 35th Street and Park Avenue, just two blocks from the spot where Renee Good was shot at 34th and Portland.

In a post on Bluesky, Minneapolis Council Member Jason Chavez says ICE officers “rammed” into a car and then questioned the immigration status of the driver – who Chavez said was a U.S. citizen. Chavez said the officers also used a chemical irritant that appeared to be tear gas.

What they’re saying:

At the scene, FOX 9 saw a Subaru with a smashed rear bumper. Speaking after the fact, the man who was questioned said he believes he was stopped purely because he is Latino.

“Because I look Latino, that’s it,” he said. “I don’t look white or got blue eyes. I’m sorry to say that guys. They saw this mustache and they saw me with a hat and they were like ‘Oh, this guy looks like a target. Let’s pull him over.’”

The man says the officers turned on their lights to stop him. He took a left turn and said before he could pull over to stop, they hit him.

A statement sent to FOX 9, attributed to Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, said the following:

“On January 12, ICE officers were in a vehicle conducting surveillance on a known illegal alien target when agitators began to obstruct law enforcement. An agitator’s reckless driving caused the officer to get in a car wreck. 

“ICE officers approached the vehicle and asked the driver for identification. The driver quickly became agitated and began threatening ICE officers and shouting profanities at them. Officers were swarmed by approximately 100 agitators who surrounded law enforcement and began throwing objects at them, threatening them, blocking their exit, and impeding their lawful operations. Officers called for backup and were forced to deploy tear gas and other crowd control techniques in order to disperse the crowd.

“Thankfully, all officers were able to safely exit the scene without injuries.

“Make no mistake – obstructing federal law enforcement officers during the performance of their duties is not only dangerous but also a crime.

“Sanctuary politicians have created an environment that encourages rampant assaults on law enforcement. Our law enforcement officers are facing a 3,200% increase in vehicle attacks, a more than 1,300% increase in assaults, and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”

Big picture view:

The man says he told the officers he was a citizen but refused to show documents. However, he says they checked his plates, and he believes they verified his identity that way.

As the investigation was underway, a crowd of “observers” gathered and things got tense. Eventually, the law enforcement officers used tear gas to clear the crowd and leave the scene.

Thousands of people protested in Minneapolis, Minnesota over the weekend to decry the fatal shooting of 37‑year‑old Renee Good by a US immigration agent, one of more than 1,000 rallies planned nationwide against the federal government’s deportation drive. Demonstrators marched towards the residential street where Good was shot in her car and mourned at a makeshift memorial