The news hit Minnesota like a blizzard. In a move that rights groups have branded "cruel and calculated," the Trump administration has officially terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali nationals living in the United States. The directive gives thousands of refugees, many of whom have lived in the US for decades, a chilling ultimatum: leave within 60 days or be hunted down by ICE agents.

The Department of Homeland Security argues that conditions in Somalia have "improved sufficiently" to allow for repatriation—a claim that contradicts the US State Department's own travel advisories, which list Somalia as a "Do Not Travel" zone due to terrorism and instability. For the Somali community in Minneapolis, Columbus, and Seattle, the announcement is a catastrophe.

"Sent Back to Die"

"This is a death sentence," says Ilhan Omar, the US Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district. "We are sending people back to a country where Al-Shabaab controls vast territories and where the government cannot guarantee their safety." The panic is palpable. Families are scrambling to consult immigration lawyers, fearing separation as parents with TPS face deportation while their US-born children remain behind.

• The Kenyan Connection: The shockwaves are being felt in Nairobi and the Dadaab refugee camp. Many of those targeted have ties to Kenya, having transited through the country or leaving relatives here. The repatriation threatens to destabilize the fragile remittance economy, as diaspora Somalis send millions of dollars annually to support families in East Africa.
• The Citizenship Threat: In a further escalation, President Trump has threatened to strip naturalized citizens of their status if they are convicted of fraud, a rhetorical weapon aimed specifically at the Somali community in Minnesota following recent welfare scandals.
• The Logistics of Removal: Deporting thousands of people to Mogadishu presents a logistical nightmare. It is unclear if the Somali government, currently battling a resurgence of insurgency, has agreed to accept the returnees.

A Promise Kept

For Trump, this is a campaign promise fulfilled—a nativist strike against a community he has repeatedly vilified. For the Somali grandmother in Minneapolis who has never known peace in her homeland, it is the end of the American Dream. As the 60-day clock begins to tick, the fear is not just of leaving America, but of returning to a ghost.