Kristi Noem says ICE surge in Minnesota is to ‘ensure safety’
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said additional ICE agents being deployed to Minnesota will ensure agents’ safety amid protests.
President Donald Trump promised “RECKONING & RETRIBUTION” in Minnesota a day after its officials sued to stop the deployment of immigration agents to the state.
Trump on Jan. 13 decried Democratic leaders in Minnesota and said Immigration and Customs Enforcement “patriots” want to remove dangerous criminals from the state.
“Minnesota Democrats love the unrest that anarchists and professional agitators are causing…” Trump said in a social media post, claiming that turmoil in the state removes attention from the alleged fraud scandal being investigated in Minnesota. “FEAR NOT, GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA, THE DAY OF RECKONING & RETRIBUTION IS COMING.”
Minnesota and Illinois sued Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Jan. 12 to curb the agency’s surge of immigration enforcement activity, less than a week after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. Minnesota officials are seeking to stop Homeland Security agents from deploying to the state, and Illinois is suing to put an end to controversial tactics used in the Chicago area.
“Every place we go, crime comes down. In Chicago, despite a weak and incompetent Governor and Mayor fighting us all the way, a big improvement was made,” Trump said on Jan. 13.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the deployments amounted to a “federal invasion.”
Trump’s remarks on Jan. 13 come as his administration said it will not continue authorizing Temporary Protected Status for Somali immigrants in the United States, which was set to expire on March 17.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on the social media platform X that Somalis with TPS “will be required to leave the country by March 17.”
Trump also vowed to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant, singling out those from Somalia, who have been “convicted of defrauding” Americans – a move that is ultimately up to the federal courts and not the federal government.
“We’re also going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or anywhere else who is convicted of defrauding our citizens. We’re gonna ‘em the hell out of here fast,” Trump said during a speech on Jan. 13 at the Detroit Economic Club in Michigan.
“If you come to America to rob Americans, we’re throwing you in jail and we’re sending you back to the place where you came,” he added.
Stripping citizenship from naturalized U.S. citizens is rare and has a high bar, and one that federal courts make the final decisions on. Denaturalization can be pursued through either civil proceedings or a criminal conviction.
General grounds for denaturalization include the “illegal procurement of naturalization” or the “concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation,” according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In addition, the federal government can cite an individual’s current or past affiliation with a totalitarian political party or terrorist organization.
Trump administration to end TPS for Somali migrants
Temporary Protected Status provides protection from deportation for immigrants from designated countries where conditions temporarily prevent their citizens from returning, such as armed conflict or environmental disaster. TPS recipients may also receive employment authorization. Somalia has been a TPS-designated country since 1991, with continual renewals since then on the basis of ongoing armed conflict.
The Trump administration’s decision not to renew TPS effectively ends those protections for Somali migrants living in the United States.
Trump previously said he was terminating TPS for Somalis living in Minnesota in November and said at the time the termination was “effective immediately,” claiming that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State.”
In the wake of investigations into alleged fraud activity in Minnesota, including by U.S. citizens of Somali descent, Trump has recently made posts targeting Somalis in the state that local leaders called racist. The state has been a destination for the Somali-American community in recent decades, with a flourishing community that includes business and cultural districts. United States Census Bureau data from 2023 shows 63,192 people in Minnesota had Somali ancestry at the time.
TPS was last extended for qualified Somali migrants for an 18-month period beginning in September 2024, which is set to expire March 17. Beneficiaries are required to re-register with the extension of the designation. As of March 31, 2025, there were 705 Somali nationals approved for TPS living in the United States, according to data provided by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to the Congressional Research Service. The Department of Homeland Security said in its most recent reauthorization that it expected about 4,300 Somalis to be newly eligible for TPS.
To be eligible for TPS, foreign nationals from designated countries must have been continuously present in the United States since a specified date, and must not have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States. Other factors can disqualify someone from TPS, including “engaging in or inciting terrorist activity,” according to USCIS.
“Temporary means temporary,” Noem told Fox News. “Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status.”
“Further, allowing Somali nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to our national interests,” she said, according to Fox.
Contributing: Christopher Cann, Michael Loria and Joey Garrison