By Ted Hesson and Costas Pitas
Washington, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will end humanitarian protections that grant deportation relief and work permits to some 1,100 Somalis in the U.S., administration officials said on Tuesday, the latest restrictive move targeting Somali immigrants.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she would end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis, arguing that conditions in Somalia had improved even as fighting continues between Somali armed forces and al-Shabaab militants. With the termination, the status will be set to expire on March 17 although a legal challenge is likely.
"Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law's requirement for Temporary Protected Status," Noem said in a statement. "Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests. We are putting Americans first.”
Trump has been critical of Somali immigrants in recent months, calling them "garbage" and focusing on fraud allegations in Minnesota that have included some Somalis. The Republican president said in November that he was ending TPS for Somalis in Minnesota, which is home to an estimated 76,000 Somali immigrants, according to U.S. Census data.
The Trump administration surged more than 2,000 federal immigration agents to Minnesota amid allegations that Somali immigrants were running fraudulent daycares, turning the Democratic-led city into the latest focus of Trump's crackdown.
Tensions boiled over last week in Minneapolis when a federal immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, sparking protests.
Speaking in Detroit on Tuesday, Trump said his administration would revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrants from Somalia or elsewhere who were convicted of defrauding U.S. citizens.
While the Trump administration has said it aims to ramp up denaturalizations, the process can be resource-intensive and lengthy.
TRUMP TARGETS TPS IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
TPS provides deportation relief and work permits to people already in the U.S. if their home countries experience a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. The Trump administration has sought to end most enrollment in the program, saying it runs counter to U.S. interests.
A U.S. federal judge in December blocked the Trump administration from ending TPS for thousands of migrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, citing racially inflammatory statements by Trump officials that raised questions about the legitimacy of the decision-making process.
A Federal Register notice related to the termination posted on Tuesday said about 1,100 Somalis had the status and that another 1,400 had pending TPS applications.
The termination notice said security had improved in Somalia and that returning Somalis could elect to live in safer parts of the country, such as the northern territory of Somaliland.
The 2024 TPS extension, issued by the Biden administration, said attacks by al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, warranted humanitarian relief for Somalis in the U.S.
"Al-Shabaab subjects civilians to numerous human rights abuses, including summary executions, religiously and politically motivated killings, disappearances, physical abuse, and other inhuman treatment," the notice said.
(Reporting by Ted Hesson and Costas Pitas; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Susan Heavey, Frances Kerry, Bill Berkrot and Nick Zieminski)
