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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration is ending temporary protected status for thousands of Somalis in the United States, Fox News reported on Tuesday, requiring them to leave by March 17.
The move follows a series of negative comments in recent months by President Donald Trump about Somalis in the U.S. — including U.S. citizens of Somali origin. He has particularly singled out Somalis living in Minnesota.
Trump said in November that he was immediately terminating temporary deportation protections for Somalis living in the state, which is home to a large Somali-American community.
At the time, he called Minnesota a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity" under Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, an apparent response to unverified media reports, shared by several Republican lawmakers, that the Al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia has benefited from fraud committed in Minnesota.
On Tuesday, Fox News reported that the scheme would end for Somalis nationwide.
In response to an email from Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security sent a statement from its chief, Kristi Noem.
"Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law's requirement for Temporary Protected Status," she said.
Minnesota has become a major flashpoint in the administration's efforts to deport millions of immigrants.
In the last few days, tens of thousands of people have marched through Minneapolis to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration agent.
There are 2,471 Somali nationals in the United States under TPS and another 1,383 with pending TPS applications, Fox News reported, citing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sources.
