Trump says he is ending immigration protections for Somalis in Minnesota | US immigration

Donald Trump said Friday night that he would “immediately” end temporary legal protections for Somali immigrants living in Minnesota, taking aim at a program aimed at limiting deportations that his administration has already repeatedly tried to weaken.

Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali community. Many fled the long civil war in east African countries and were attracted by the state’s welcoming social programs.

But it may be very small how many immigrants will be affected by Trump’s announcement that he wants to end temporary protected status. A report prepared for Congress in August stated that the number of Somalis covered by the program was only 705 nationwide.

Congress created the program granting temporary protected status in 1990. The goal of the program was to prevent people from being deported to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil unrest or other dangerous situations.

The appointment may be issued by the secretary of homeland security and is granted in 18-month increments.

The president announced his decision on his social media site, citing Minnesota as a “center of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from,” Trump wrote. “FINISHED!”

While campaigning to win back the White House last year, Trump promised that his administration would deport millions of people. The Trump administration has moved to roll back various protections that allow immigrants to stay and work legally in the United States, as part of a broader effort to adopt tough immigration policies.

This included ending TPS for the 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians under President Joe Biden’s protection. The Trump administration has also sought to limit protections previously imposed on immigrants from Cuba and Syria, among other countries.