President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota, claiming the state has become “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”

“Minnesota, under Governor [Walz], is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!”

In response, Governor Tim Walz pushed back, writing on X, “It’s not surprising that the President has chosen to broadly target an entire community. This is what he does to change the subject.”

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website, the TPS designation for Somalia is currently listed as active through March 17, 2026. The move to terminated TPS status for Somalis follows efforts by the Trump administration to remove protections for migrants from Afghanistan, Venezuela, Syria, and South Sudan, which have faced legal challenges.

Minnesota has one of the largest Somali-born populations in the country, a demographic that has sparked debate amid the national immigration discussion. The state has seen controversies involving allegations that billions in taxpayer dollars were stolen and funneled through fake nonprofits in the Somali community. The recent Minneapolis mayoral election also received national attention when socialist Omah Fateh lost his race, with a major factor being political divides among Somalia-based clans.

Many Somali-born residents in Minnesota, however, are already US citizens. Representative Ilhan Omar highlighted this on X, writing in response to Trump’s announcement, “I am a citizen and so are majority of Somalis in America. Good luck celebrating a policy change that really doesn’t have much impact on the Somalis you love to hate. We are here to stay.