Judge Allows U.S. to Revoke Protection for Nearly 1100 Somalis

A federal judge in Boston has granted the Trump administration the authority to revoke the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nearly 1100 individuals from Somalia. This ruling allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to end the humanitarian protection that has shielded Somalis from deportation since 1991.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs aligns with a broader trend of the administration seeking to terminate TPS for various nationalities. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously allowed the administration to end TPS for thousands from Haiti and Syria in June. In the past week, similar judicial approvals were given to end TPS for individuals from South Sudan and Myanmar, although a judge has currently blocked the termination for Ethiopians.

TPS is a designation granted to individuals whose home countries are experiencing natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary conditions, protecting them from deportation. Somalis were first granted this status due to the ongoing civil war in their country.

This judicial approval comes despite previous attempts by the administration to end TPS for Somalis. In January, then-acting DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to terminate the status, arguing that conditions in Somalia had improved, despite continued fighting between Somali forces and the Islamist al-Shabaab movement. Judge Burroughs had initially blocked the termination in March.

The ruling also occurs against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's documented anti-immigrant rhetoric. In December, Trump reportedly referred to immigrants from Somalia as "shithole countries" and expressed a preference for immigrants from Scandinavian nations, stating they "don't contribute anything."

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We only take in immigrants from shithole countries. Is it possible to get some from Scandinavia instead? Some good people. They don't contribute anything. I don't want them in our country, I'm honest with you.