The administration of Donald Trump plans to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Somali nationals next week, a move that could strip about 1,100 people of their legal right to live and work in the United States.

The United States Department of Homeland Security said the decision was based on an assessment that conditions in Somalia have improved sufficiently to warrant ending the program, which grants temporary legal protection to migrants from countries facing conflict or other extraordinary circumstances.

However, the policy has been challenged in court by four Somali nationals and two migrant-rights organizations, who argue that the decision was unlawful and improperly justified.

One of the groups involved in the lawsuit, Muslim Advocates, said ending TPS protections for Somali migrants amounts to “racism disguised as immigration policy.” The plaintiffs contend that the move is unconstitutional, arguing it was driven by prejudice rather than an objective evaluation of conditions in Somalia, where fighting continues between government forces and militants from Al‑Shabaab.

The legal complaint also cites a series of remarks attributed to Trump that plaintiffs say demonstrate hostility toward Somali migrants. According to the filing, the president has mocked Somalis in public comments and reportedly referred to them as “trash and low-IQ people.” In December 2025, he said he wanted to send them “back to where they came from.”

Meanwhile, the immigrant advocacy group African Communities Together is pursuing separate legal challenges over plans to revoke temporary protections for migrants from Cameroon, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Nearly 12,000 people from those countries could be affected.

For now, implementation of the policy remains on hold while the cases proceed through the courts — a process that could take months or even years.

The legal battle comes amid heightened immigration enforcement targeting Somali communities in states such as Minnesota and Maine, prompting protests and criticism from immigrant-rights advocates across the country.

At the same time, authorities in Minnesota are prosecuting a series of overlapping fraud cases involving social service programs that prosecutors say may have cost taxpayers more than $200 million. Prosecutors have suggested losses could reach as high as $9 billion, although state officials say that estimate is exaggerated.

Nearly 100 cases have been filed in connection with the alleged schemes, which involve programs such as COVID-era food assistance, housing support and autism services. Prosecutors say the majority of defendants are of Somali descent, and about 66 people have been convicted so far.