The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday announced the termination of Somalia’s designation under the Temporary Protected Status program, setting a March 17, 2026, deadline for affected nationals to depart the United States or secure another lawful status.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the decision followed a statutory review of country conditions and concluded that Somalia no longer meets the legal threshold for TPS.
“Temporary means temporary,” Noem said in a statement. “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. We are putting Americans first.”
TPS allows eligible nationals from designated countries to live and work in the United States when conditions in their home countries prevent safe return, such as armed conflict or environmental disasters. Federal law requires the secretary of homeland security to review each designation at least 60 days before expiration to determine whether conditions still warrant protection.
DHS said Somalia’s designation will expire on March 17, 2026. Somali nationals who do not have another lawful status permitting them to remain in the country are being encouraged to depart voluntarily. The department said departures can be reported through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP Home mobile application, which DHS described as a secure option that includes a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and the possibility of pursuing legal immigration in the future.
The move follows a similar action taken in November 2025, when the Trump administration ended Haiti’s TPS designation. That decision affected more than 350,000 Haitian nationals, whose protections are set to lapse in early February 2026, according to federal officials.
The administration has defended the TPS terminations as part of a broader effort to enforce immigration law as written and to limit temporary programs that, officials say, have effectively become permanent. DHS emphasized that the Somalia decision was based on a review of conditions and statutory requirements, not an automatic extension.
President Donald Trump has recently criticized the TPS program and questioned continued protections for certain nationalities during public remarks. DHS did not reference those comments in its announcement and said the Somalia determination was made through the required interagency review process.
Federal officials said the termination will take effect as scheduled unless challenged or modified through further administrative action.
