The Department of Homeland Security ended temporary protected status (TPS) for thousands of Somali nationals in the United States as federal prosecutors continue investigating sprawling Somali-related welfare fraud in Minnesota.
"Temporary means temporary," DHS secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. "Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status."
"Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests," Noem added. "We are putting Americans first."
There are currently 2,471 Somali nationals in the United States with TPS and another 1,383 in the country who are applying for TPS, according to Fox News. Six hundred reside in Minnesota. Somalis were initially granted TPS in 1991, and former president Joe Biden in 2024 extended the protection.
The move comes as federal prosecutors investigate massive Somali-related welfare fraud in Minnesota. Much of the fraud, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, was uncovered after a group of mostly Somali immigrants set up a fraudulent charity, Feeding Our Future, and stole money from a child nutrition program. Subsequent investigations brought cases related to child nutrition programs, Medicaid, housing assistance, and other social services.
The Department of Justice has charged 98 people, and 64 have already been convicted, according to the White House. Federal prosecutors doubled the number of investigators working on the scandal, and the White House created a DOJ fraud division with a newly appointed assistant attorney general to oversee the investigations.
This month, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D.) abandoned his reelection bid after facing criticism for his handling of the investigations. A December KSTP and Survey USA poll found that 79 percent of registered voters in Minnesota think fraud in state programs is either the biggest or a major problem in the state, and 69 percent said Walz needed to "do more" to stop the fraud.
