Noem Ends Temporary Protected Status for Somalis, Giving About 1,000 People Until March 17 to Leave

On January 13, 2026, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of Somalia's Temporary Protected Status designation, published in the Federal Register the following day. The termination takes effect at 11:59 p.m. on March 17, 2026. As of December 8, 2025, roughly 1,082 people held approved Somali TPS and 1,383 applications were pending. Noem determined that Somalia is "no longer experiencing an ongoing armed conflict" but rather "localized pockets of violence," and that drought, food insecurity and Al Shabaab activity "do not prevent Somali nationals from returning in safety." She also invoked a national-interest determination citing vetting difficulties, a 21.3 percent business-visitor overstay rate against a 2.3 percent global average, and documented fraud cases.

TPS terminations turn on a statutory finding about country conditions, and the determination that Somalia's conflict has ended is contested by humanitarian organizations and by the State Department's own long-standing travel guidance. The action landed weeks after the president publicly disparaged Somali immigrants and amid a federal immigration surge in Minneapolis, home to the largest Somali diaspora community in the United States.

The termination was set to take effect March 17, 2026.