Can Trump end protections for Somalis living in Minnesota?

President Trump’s pledge to terminate temporary legal protections for Somalis living in Minnesota is triggering fear in the state’s deeply rooted immigrant community, along with doubts about whether the White House has the legal authority to enact the directive as described.

- By JAKE OFFENHARTZ

ELIZABETH FLORES Minnesota Star Tribune WOMEN attend a funeral at Dar Al-Farooq Islamic Center in Minnesota in 2023.

In a social media post late Friday, Trump said he would “immediately” strip Somali residents in Minnesota of Temporary Protected Status, a legal safeguard against deportation for immigrants from certain countries.

The announcement was immediately challenged by some state leaders and immigration experts, who characterized Trump's declaration as a legally dubious effort to sow fear and suspicion toward Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the nation.

“There’s no legal mechanism that allows the president to terminate protected status for a particular community or state that he has beef with,” said Heidi Altman, policy director at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “This is Trump doing what he always does: demagoguing immigrants without justification or evidence and using that demagoguery in an attempt to take away important lifesaving protections,” she added.