"I'd Rather Live in Hiding in the US Than Return to Somalia" — The Human Cost of Trump's Immigration Crackdown in Minneapolis

Months after President Trump’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota was declared over, the nightmare continues for thousands of Somali immigrants. The largest Somali community outside Africa, centered in Minneapolis, remains gripped by fear as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents reportedly still conduct home raids.

Abdi, a 23-year-old Somali man whose name has been changed to protect his identity, embodies this terror. He says he rarely stays in one place longer than five nights and sneaks out to work, haunted by the threat of sudden detention. Despite having Temporary Protected Status (TPS)—a legal shield granted to people fleeing conflict or disaster—his friends have been detained, showing the fragility of these protections under the Trump administration.

Trump’s administration sought to end TPS for around 2,500 Somali immigrants by March 2026, claiming Somalia’s security had improved. But a federal judge has temporarily blocked these removals. Still, the message from the administration is clear: Somali immigrants are targets. This crackdown followed disparaging remarks by Trump about the Somali community and a massive deployment of agents at the peak of the operation numbering in the thousands.

The Somali population in the US is roughly 260,000 strong, with most legally present or naturalized. Many fled Somalia after its government collapsed in 1991, escaping decades of civil war, Islamist militant violence, and drought. Abdi himself fled in 2022 after al-Shabab militants tried to recruit him. His journey to the US was harrowing, involving a $15,000 payment to smugglers, a dangerous trek across the Darién Gap jungle, and a perilous border crossing.

Once in the US, Abdi applied for asylum and TPS, which currently protects him until 2029. But the trauma of raids and the threat of deportation loom large. Deportation to Somalia means a 10-year or longer ban on re-entry, even if the person has US-born children.

The Department of Homeland Security defends the operation as a public safety victory, claiming over 11,000 arrests of “criminal illegal aliens” in Minneapolis. But Somali community leaders and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey call out the hypocrisy: the federal government says Somalia is safe enough to end TPS while simultaneously warning Americans not to travel there.

The impact of the raids is visible in Minneapolis—closed shops, fractured families, and a community living in fear. For many like Abdi, the choice is grim: live in hiding in the US or face life-threatening danger back home. This ongoing crisis exposes the human cost of Trump’s hardline immigration policies and the urgent need for accountability and humane reform.