All Somalis granted temporary protective status (TPS) by the United States will have that status revoked, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on Tuesday.
According to Fox News Digital, the decision will affect 2,471 Somali nationals, with 1,383 still having their applications pending.
The announcement comes as federal authorities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, continue operations in Minnesota after revelations of a massive welfare fraud scheme involving members of the Somali community. Approximately 600 Somali nationals living in Minnesota will be affected by the revocation of their TPS status.
A similar instance of fraud committed by Somalis was uncovered in Sweden.
The EU’s equivalent to the TPS—the Temporary Protection Directive, aimed at providing immediate residency permits to refugees from a specific country in a crisis situation—currently only applies to Ukrainians fleeing the war. Somali nationals have to apply for asylum through the standard channels, but often receive ‘subsidiary protection’ or humanitarian residency permits, typically of a temporary nature.
In 2025, Somalis were among the top nationalities granted some form of protection in the EU, with about 6,500 positive decisions between January and September.
