U.S. Citizenship Vanishes Overnight: Trump Revokes Protections for Tens of Thousands of Somalis in Minnesota — What Happens Next?

In the quiet suburbs of Minneapolis, where snow-dusted streets wind past modest homes adorned with American flags and halal markets, the ripple of a single late-night social media post has turned lives upside down. On Friday evening, President Donald J. Trump, in a characteristically blunt Truth Social declaration, announced the immediate termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali nationals residing in Minnesota. The move, affecting an estimated 40,000 individuals—many of whom have called the United States home for decades—has ignited a firestorm of outrage, legal challenges, and existential fear among one of America’s largest Somali diaspora communities.

“Minnesota, under Governor Walz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” Trump wrote in the post that has since garnered over 2 million views. “I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota. 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!”

The announcement, delivered without prior congressional consultation or a formal executive order, marks a seismic shift in U.S. immigration policy. TPS, a humanitarian program established under the Immigration Act of 1990, allows nationals from countries deemed unsafe to live and work legally in the U.S. temporarily. Somalia has held TPS designation since 1991, renewed periodically by both Republican and Democratic administrations. For Minnesota’s Somali community—the largest outside Somalia itself—this status has been a lifeline.

But Trump’s decree isn’t rooted in Somalia’s ongoing instability. Instead, it zeroed in on a burgeoning scandal: allegations of widespread welfare fraud in the state, purportedly orchestrated by members of the Somali community and funneling billions in taxpayer dollars back to terrorist networks. Citing a recent investigative report from City Journal, Trump painted a picture of a state overrun by crime and corruption under Democratic Governor Tim Walz.

As families huddle in community centers, poring over hastily printed DHS notices, the question looms larger than the winter chill: What happens now? Deportation proceedings could begin as early as next week, thrusting tens of thousands into limbo. Lawyers are scrambling, advocacy groups are mobilizing, and politicians from both parties are weighing in. Beneath the headlines lies a deeper reckoning: Is this a justified crackdown on fraud, or a dangerous precedent that weaponizes immigration policy against an entire ethnic group?

The Roots of Minnesota’s Somali Boom

To understand the shockwaves, one must rewind to the early 1990s. Somalia’s descent into anarchy following the ouster of dictator Siad Barre in 1991 triggered a mass exodus. The U.S. began resettling refugees. Minnesota, with its robust social services and welcoming Muslim communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul, became a magnet.

By 2025, the state’s Somali population exceeds 100,000. They’ve woven into the fabric of Minnesota life: driving school buses, staffing hospitals, launching businesses. Figures like Congresswoman Ilhan Omar embody this integration. Yet stereotypes persist, and Trump’s rhetoric has amplified them.

TPS has been crucial. Renewed most recently in May 2025 through March 2026, it granted work authorization and deportation relief to the majority in Minnesota. Revocation doesn’t strip citizenship but yanks away protections, exposing holders to removal orders.

For many, like Amina Hassan, a 42-year-old nurse in Rochester who’s lived in the U.S. since 1993, it feels like erasure.

“I came here as a child, fleeing bombs,” Hassan said, her voice cracking. “My kids are American-born. We’ve paid into this system. Now, because of what a few did wrong, we’re all criminals?”

Trump’s Bombshell: A Post at Midnight

The announcement landed like a grenade. Posted at 11:47 p.m. ET on November 28, 2025, it was vintage Trump: all caps, unfiltered fury, and a direct jab at Walz. Trump has made immigration his signature issue, promising the “largest deportation operation in American history.” Targeting a single ethnic group in one state, however, is uncharted territory.

Legal experts call it executive overreach. TPS terminations are typically managed by DHS with notice and hearings. Lawsuits are already piling up; the Minnesota Somali Justice Coalition filed an emergency injunction arguing discrimination.

Trump’s post referenced the City Journal exposé “The Somali Fraud Machine.” The report alleges that under Walz’s watch, Minnesota’s welfare system has hemorrhaged billions. Key claims include:

The $250 million Feeding Our Future scandal — the largest pandemic-era fraud prosecution in U.S. history. Defendants falsely claimed to feed millions of children, instead buying luxury cars and real estate.
A Medicaid housing program that exploded from $2.6 million to $107 million annually amid fraud allegations.
Autism therapy and other Medicaid schemes costing hundreds of millions.

The report escalates further: anonymous federal sources claim millions from these scams were sent to al-Shabaab via informal hawala networks. Critics call the terror link guilt by association, but the damage is done.

The Human Toll: Families on the Brink

In Cedar-Riverside—known as Little Mogadishu—the mood is funereal. At emergency town halls, stories pour out. Cab drivers, nurses, small-business owners—all suddenly facing deportation to a country many have never known as adults.

Economically, the blow is staggering. Somali-owned businesses contribute an estimated $1.5–2 billion annually to Minnesota’s GDP. Schools, hospitals, and malls could face sudden staffing crises.

Political Firestorm

Governor Tim Walz called it “a “shameful abuse of power.” Rep. Ilhan Omar labeled it racism disguised as policy. Republicans, meanwhile, cheer: House Oversight is subpoenaing state records, and Trump allies celebrate the move as long-overdue accountability.

Legal Labyrinth and What Comes Next

Courts will decide if Trump can unilaterally end TPS by tweet. Somalia remains one of the most dangerous countries on earth; mass deportation would likely violate international refoulement laws. Immigration attorneys predict tens of thousands of last-minute asylum claims, years of backlog, and humanitarian chaos.

ICE has quietly dubbed the coming enforcement push “Operation Cornfield.” Raids could begin within days.

In living rooms across the Twin Cities, families pack go-bags, print birth certificates of U.S.-citizen children, and pray the courts move faster than the planes.

Minnesota’s Somali heart still beats—resilient, proud, terrified.

But for how much longer?