The legal complaint, submitted to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on 9 March, seeks to block the planned termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that currently protects more than 1,000 Somali immigrants from deportation in the United States.

The plaintiffs include the advocacy organizations African Communities Together and Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans. In court filings, they argue the administration’s decision was "procedurally flawed” and influenced by discriminatory bias against non-White immigrants.

TPS is a humanitarian program established by the U.S. government that allows migrants from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to live and work temporarily in the United States without fear of deportation. Somalia was first designated for TPS in 1991 amid the country’s civil war and prolonged instability.

In January, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced plans to terminate the protection, stating that conditions in Somalia had improved sufficiently for nationals to return. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security previously said TPS "was never intended to be a de facto amnesty programme.”

However, attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that the decision ignores ongoing security challenges and humanitarian pressures in Somalia. They also cited past statements attributed to President Trump about Somali migrants, which were widely condemned by civil rights organizations.

"The administration predetermined the outcome and disregarded the evidence about conditions in Somalia,” said a spokesperson for African Communities Together in a statement accompanying the lawsuit.

Outside a Somali community center in Minneapolis, Abdi Hassan, a shopkeeper who has lived in the United States for 18 years, said many families are anxious about the potential loss of legal protection. "People built their lives here,” he said. "They have jobs, children in school, and communities.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 260,000 people of Somali descent live in the United States, with large communities concentrated in Minnesota. Somali Americans have also gained growing political visibility, including Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar.

Analysts say the lawsuit could have broader implications as the administration moves to end TPS protections for several nationalities, potentially reshaping immigration policy and affecting thousands of migrants whose legal status depends on the programme.