WASHINGTON – On Friday night, President Donald Trump announced the immediate cessation of temporary legal protections for Somali immigrants residing in Minnesota. This move further challenges a program his administration has persistently attempted to dismantle, aiming to curb deportations.

Minnesota hosts the United States’ most significant Somali population. Many individuals sought refuge from the prolonged civil unrest in Somalia, attracted by the state’s supportive social services.

However, the number of migrants potentially affected by Trump’s decision to revoke Temporary Protective Status may be minimal. An August congressional report estimated that only 705 Somalis nationwide are beneficiaries of this status.

Established by Congress in 1990, the Temporary Protective Status program was designed to halt deportations to countries plagued by natural disasters, internal conflict, or perilous conditions.

This status can be conferred by the Homeland Security Secretary and is typically renewed every 18 months.

The president announced his decision on his social media site, suggesting that Minnesota was “a hub 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. “It’s OVER!”

Trump promised while campaigning to win back the White House last year that his administration would deport millions of people. As part of a broader push to adopt hardline immigration policies, the Trump administration has moved to withdraw various protections that had allowed immigrants to remain in the United States and work legally.

That included ending TPS for 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians who were granted protection under President Joe Biden. The Trump administration has also sought to limit protections previously extended to migrants from Cuba and Syria, among other countries.