Thousands of Minnesotans could be impacted by SCOTUS immigration ruling
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gives the Trump administration greater control over a special immigration designation could impact thousands of people in Minnesota.
In the 6-3 decision, the high court said the Trump administration can move forward with its efforts to strip Temporary Protected Status from more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. That decision has implications for other people from about 17 countries with TPS, which includes Somalia.
The case landed on the Supreme Court docket after lower courts blocked efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to end TPS for Syrians and Haitians. The Supreme Court reversed those rulings, saying that immigrants from Syria and Haiti are not entitled to judicial orders postponing the terminations of their temporary deportation protections.
"The TPS statute plainly bars consideration of respondents' non-constitutional claims," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority.
On the social media platform X, DHS General Counsel James Percival highlighted that these protections were always designed to be "temporary."
"In other words, everyone agrees you are going home, it's a question of when," Percival said.
In Minnesota, the National Immigration Forum estimated that there were about 8,460 people from various countries with TPS in 2025. There is no clear government data on how many are from Haiti and Syria.
Steven Thal, an immigration attorney operating out of a private practice in Minnetonka, said that he's heard from colleagues who are now working to help their clients from these countries remain in the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security gives countries TPS status as a result of extremely dangerous circumstances, ranging from war to environmental disasters. Thal believes that the Supreme Court did not do enough to address whether DHS properly vets the safety for people returning to their country of origin.
"What this decision does, it opens up the door and avenue for the Trump administration to continue to terminate other TPS designations," Thal said.
That could include Somalia. President Trump attempted to unilaterally end TPS for about 700 Somalis in November 2025. This led to a series of legal challenges, with a federal judge ultimately staying the termination of TPS for Somalia in March, citing ongoing warfare and violence.
Thal believes the Supreme Court's ruling will now make it far easier for Homeland Security to end Somali TPS. According to government estimates from 2023, there are around 430 Somalis with TPS in Minnesota. The overwhelming majority of the 80,000 Somali people living in the state — some 95% — are U.S. citizens. More than half were born in the U.S., with most of the Somali-born immigrants arriving before 2010.
Mustafa Warsama, a Somali-American in Minnesota, said that he knows people who are here on TPS. He said that they fled the Al-Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia.
"There is no peace you can rely on in Somalia, so people run away for their safety," Warsama said.
Haitians and Syrians with TPS will no longer be allowed to work on July 1.
