The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and CAIR-Minnesota (CAIR-MN) today expressed opposition to the Trump administration’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali nationals and require them to “leave the country by March 17.”
[NOTE: Today, CAIR-MN, alongside community leaders and legal advocates, held a press conference to release new community guidance for individuals holding I-94 immigration status. CAIR also today applauded an address on the Senate floor by Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) urging his colleagues to “loudly and resolutely condemn Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate.”]
CAIR and its Minnesota chapter called the move the administration’s latest bigoted attack on the Somali community and a dangerous, unlawful policy that endangers families while directly contradicting the U.S. government’s own risk assessment of conditions in Somalia.
In a joint statement, CAIR and CAIR-Minnesota said:
“This unjustifiable policy targeting Somali TPS holders is the administration’s latest bigoted attack on the Somali community. We were not surprised by this decision, but we are deeply alarmed by what it represents. The Somali TPS program affects fewer than a thousand people, yet its termination carries enormous consequences for families who have lived and worked lawfully in this country for decades.
“The U.S. State Department continues to designate Somalia as a Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ country due to the lack of basic security conditions that would place returning Somali TPS holders at constant risk through no fault of their own. Somalia remains a country that has endured decades of civil war, ongoing instability, and persistent threats from armed groups. Conditions on the ground have not meaningfully improved.
“Ending Somali TPS defies both logic and the basic purpose of the program. This decision does not reflect changed conditions in Somalia. It reflects a political choice to abandon Somali families who were promised protection under U.S. law. By dismantling protections for one of the most vulnerable Black and Muslim communities, this decision exposes an agenda rooted in exclusion, not public safety.
“Congress must intervene to block the termination of TPS for Somalia and conduct oversight of this discriminatory policy, and immigration courts must halt removals and uphold the rule of law. This is not policy driven by facts. It is a political attack, and it puts lives at risk.”
March 17th TPS Termination Deadline
Today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the decision posting on the social media website X.com: “Somali migrants with TPS will be required to leave the country by March 17.”
The administration’s order directly contradicts the U.S. State Department’s continued designation of Somalia as a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” country, the highest danger classification.
That advisory warns Americans not to travel to Somalia due to ongoing violence, political instability, and the lack of basic security. U.S. government employees in Somalia are currently restricted to the Mogadishu airport complex because of extreme security risks.
CAIR notes that under federal law, TPS may only be terminated if the extraordinary and dangerous conditions that justified protection have genuinely resolved. The U.S. government’s own travel warnings make clear that they have not.
Somali TPS holders include essential workers, small business owners, students, parents, and caregivers. Many have U.S.-citizen children. Many fled civil war and instability with the explicit promise of U.S. protection under humanitarian law.
This TPS termination comes amid a broader pattern of discriminatory rhetoric and policies directed at Somali communities. CAIR has repeatedly documented and condemned anti-Somali hysteria, ICE targeting, and political scapegoating, including:
- CAIR Jan. 7, Op-ed: “Somali American Day Care Hysteria Is Latest Attempt to Distract Americans With Hate”
- CAIR, CAIR-MN Dec. 4, Press Release: CAIR, CAIR-MN Strongly Condemns ‘Raw Racism’ Targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar and Somali-American Community
- CAIR-MN Dec. 3: Press Release: CAIR-MN Condemns Politically Motivated ICE Targeting of Somali Minnesotans
- CAIR-MN Nov 23, Press Conf: CAIR-MN, Muslim Community Leaders, Partners to Hold Press Conference on Islamophobic Rhetoric and Somali TPS Termination
- CAIR-MN Nov. 21 Press Release: Breaking: CAIR-MN Says Trump’s Removal of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota ‘Will Tear Families Apart’
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com