escalating crackdown on the community. There is a large Somali community in Minnesota, the Midwestern state at the forefront of raids and searches by immigration officers, one of whom shot and killed a local woman last week, sparking protests. Minnesota has sought a temporary restraining order for the ICE operation in the state which, if granted by a federal judge, would pause the enforcement sweeps that have so far reportedly led to 2,000 arrests. In recent weeks Washington has lashed out at Somali immigrants, alleging large-scale public benefit fraud in Minnesota's Somali community, the largest in the country with around 80,000 members.

The Department of Homeland Security said on X it was "ENDING Temporary Protected Status for Somalians in the United States." "Our message is clear. Go back to your own country, or we'll send you back ourselves," it said. DHS followed up by re-tweeting its initial post with a photograph of President Donald Trump and the caption "I am the captain now," a reference to the film "Captain Phillips" in which a tanker is seized by Somali pirates.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) shields certain foreigners from deportation to disaster zones and allows them the right to work. Tuesday's announcement set a March 17 departure deadline for Somalis losing their legal status. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American elected to Congress, said Saturday Trump is "trying to scare them and terrorize them every single day... And what we know is that Somalis are not intimidated." On Tuesday, the Republican president took to his Truth Social platform to attack Democrats who lead Minneapolis, its twin city St. Paul, and Minnesota. (Bssnews)