Leaders fight Trump’s TPS ban in America targeting Somalis in Minnesota

WASHINGTON - Somali leaders from Minnesota are fighting back against Donald Trump’s planned ban of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) targeting immigrants in the state, with the American leader accusing them of fraud and gang activities, claims he couldn't prove.

The decision has angered the leaders from the state who maintain that the move amounts to discrimination against the community. Trump’s late-night statement focused on Somalis in Minnesota, which hosts the largest Somali community in the United States. Most Somali residents there are U.S. citizens or hold other forms of legal status.

Critics maintain that Trump is unfairly targeting Muslims in the US, with Minnesota. In a post on Truth Social on November 21, Trump described Minnesota as a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” under Democratic Governor Tim Walz.

He claimed, “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing.” However, he offered no evidence to support the accusations or to link any alleged fraud to Somali TPS holders.

“I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota,” he wrote, framing the decision as a response to supposed crimes and welfare fraud.

The state Attorney General Keith Ellison said Trump cannot lawfully terminate TPS “for just one state or on a bigoted whim” and vowed to examine legal options.

In a post on X, he praised Somalis as “an integral part of our state, our culture, and our community.” He accused the president of relying on scare tactics and scapegoating.

Farah Mohamed Ali, a Somali American journalist based in Minnesota, told Somalia Today that the fraud narrative is designed to turn neighbors against each other rather than address any real problem.

“These accusations are propaganda against the Somali community,” he said. “The aim is to make other residents suspicious of Somalis and to set communities against one another. No one has any concrete evidence that money has been sent from Minnesota to Al-Shabaab. If such supporters existed here, they would already be in jail.”

“I see these far-right attacks as Islamophobia and racism,” he added. “They are also an attempt to smear the governor of Minnesota, who is not in the same party and does not share their views on ICE operations.”

The move has been widely condemned by the Democratic leadership led by Ilhan Omar, a legislator representing the state in Congress. Trump has often bullied Muslims in the country, a move that makes him extremely unpopular across the world.

GAROWE ONLINE