Somalis

The Guadian - The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said on Tuesday the administration was terminating temporary protected status for Somalis in the US, giving hundreds of people two months to leave the country or face deportation.

Trump later said his administration was going to revoke citizenship for any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or any other country who is convicted of defrauding what he referred to as “our citizens”.

What is the context? The administration has used Minnesota’s issues with fraud as a pretext to send a surge of immigration officers into the state. Trump has called Somalis “garbage” and referenced unverified reports, amplified by Republican lawmakers, suggesting the militant group al-Shabaab in Somalia benefited from fraud committed in Minnesota, though these claims have not been substantiated.

How are critics responding? The Council on American-Islamic Relations criticized the latest rollback of rights as a “bigoted attack” that would send some Somalis back to a war-torn nation. On Monday, Minneapolis and St Paul filed a lawsuit against the administration, alleging Minnesota was being politically targeted.