U.S. Court Clears Way for Trump to End TPS for Nearly 1,100 Somalis

GOOBJOOG NEWS | BOSTON, United States: A U.S. federal court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for about 1,100 Somalis, removing a legal barrier that had delayed the termination of the protection.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that Somalia’s TPS designation ended on Aug. 14, 2026, meaning affected Somalis can no longer rely on the programme’s protection from deportation or the employment authorization linked specifically to their TPS status.

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston on Friday lifted an injunction that had prevented the Department of Homeland Security from implementing the termination.

Burroughs had imposed the temporary block in March after four Somali nationals and two immigrant-rights organisations challenged the decision, arguing that ending TPS was linked to discriminatory treatment and the Trump administration’s broader immigration policies.

TPS is a temporary U.S. immigration programme that allows eligible nationals of designated countries affected by armed conflict, natural disasters or other extraordinary conditions to remain and work legally in the United States for a specified period.

The status does not provide permanent residency or citizenship.

The termination does not mean every Somali affected will immediately be deported. Those who have another valid immigration status may remain in the United States under that status.

However, people whose only protection came through Somali TPS could lose the programme’s protection from removal and the employment authorization associated with it.

Official U.S. data showed that 1,082 people held Somali TPS when the termination decision was being prepared, while another 1,383 applications were pending as of December 2025.

Somalia was first designated for TPS in 1991, following the collapse of the Somali state and the ensuing conflict. The designation was repeatedly renewed over the following decades.

The Trump administration announced in January that it would terminate Somalia’s TPS, arguing that conditions in Somalia had changed sufficiently that the country no longer met the statutory requirements for the designation.

The decision comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to tighten U.S. immigration policy and reduce protections for migrants without permanent legal status.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June also narrowed the ability of lower federal courts to block DHS decisions terminating TPS designations, helping clear the way for the termination of protections for nationals of several countries.

The court decisions have already affected TPS holders from countries including Haiti, Syria, South Sudan and Myanmar.

For Somali communities in the United States, the end of TPS represents a significant change for people who have lived and worked in the country for decades under a protection first introduced during Somalia’s state collapse.

The immediate impact will depend largely on the individual immigration status of those affected, as well as any further legal challenges or policy changes.