How many Somali immigrants have been deported from the US since 2020?
Executive summary
Available reporting does not provide a single, authoritative total for how many Somali nationals were deported from the United States since 2020; different sources report related figures — for example, one outlet says 4,090 Somali nationals have been “marked for deportation” in a recent U.S. enforcement drive [1], while a 2025 U.S. government action notes individual removals such as the May 2025 deportation of Yusuf Abdi Ali [2]. Overall, the sources document increased enforcement attention on Somalis but do not supply a consolidated, year-by-year removal count since 2020 [1] [2] [3].
1. No single tally in the provided reporting — enforcement figures are fragmented
None of the supplied items give a clear cumulative total of Somalis deported from 2020 through the present; instead the material is a patchwork of snapshots — a Garowe Online piece reports 4,090 Somalis “marked for deportation” amid a broader ICE enforcement campaign [1], a small news site repeats that 4,090 figure as part of the population facing deportation [3], and an ICE press release documents the removal of a specific high‑profile Somali national in 2025 [2]. These are related but not equivalent measures: “marked for deportation” or “facing removal” is not the same as completed removals, and the sources do not reconcile those categories [1] [3] [2].
2. Sources show intensified enforcement targeting Somalis, but definitions vary
Reporting indicates an intensification of deportation efforts that places Somalia near the top of African nationalities targeted, citing thousands “marked for deportation” [1]. That phrasing can mean formal removal orders, placements on enforcement lists, or ICE priorities — the pieces do not standardize terminology or enumerate final, executed removals [1] [3]. The ICE release confirms at least some actual removals by naming an individual case (Yusuf Abdi Ali) removed in late 2024 or early 2025 [2], showing that documented removals are taking place even if aggregate counts are not provided in these sources.
3. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) changes complicate the picture
Multiple outlets report that U.S. policy actions in 2025 affected protections that had limited Somali removals: coverage notes that TPS for Somalia has been in place since 1991 and that recent political moves sought to terminate those protections for Somalis in Minnesota [4] [5] [6]. The Guardian and NPR cite a Congressional report estimating roughly 705 Somalis covered by that TPS designation nationwide — a small subset of the broader Somali diaspora — and stress that ending TPS would increase the pool vulnerable to deportation, not necessarily reflect removals already completed [4] [5].
4. Humanitarian and logistical constraints affect removals
Analysts and humanitarian planning documents underscore practical limits on deportations: a Somalia migrants response plan projects returning migrants and identifies thousands of returning or departing migrants in 2025 but does not attribute those numbers specifically to U.S. deportations [7]. Reporting also highlights diplomatic, logistical and humanitarian hurdles — including challenges obtaining travel documents and a receiving country’s capacity to accept returnees — which make large-scale, immediate removals difficult to execute and complicate any simple counting of deportations [1] [7].
5. Varied local reporting and advocacy perspectives point to political stakes
Local U.S. coverage and advocacy groups frame recent executive moves as politically motivated and describe community impact: Minnesota reporting and advocacy sources emphasize that tens of thousands of Somalis live in Minnesota while only hundreds were covered by TPS, arguing that policy shifts risk tearing families apart [8] [6]. Conversely, administration statements tie policy changes to public safety and immigration enforcement goals; the sources show explicit political messaging around these decisions but do not reconcile those claims with a consolidated removal statistic [9] [10] [11].
6. What the available sources do not provide — and what a careful answer would need
The current reporting does not give a verified cumulative count of Somalis deported from the U.S. since 2020. To produce that total one would need: ICE/Department of Homeland Security published removal statistics broken down by nationality and year, corroborating diplomatic return records from Somali authorities, and definitions clarifying “marked for removal” versus executed removals — none of which appear in the supplied sources (not found in current reporting). The pieces here support that enforcement targeting Somalis increased and that specific removals occurred, but they stop short of a comprehensive deportation tally [1] [2] [3].
If you want, I can search for official DHS/ICE removal data by nationality and year, or pull additional reporting that attempts to reconcile “facing deportation” lists with confirmed removals.