How did TPS designations for Somalia change between 1991 and 2026, and what evidence was used for each renewal?
Executive summary
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia began in 1991 amid state collapse and civil war and was repeatedly renewed for decades on the basis of chronic armed conflict, humanitarian crises and environmental disasters; by 2024 it had been extended most recently through March 2026 by the Biden administration [1] [2] [3]. On January 13, 2026, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced termination effective March 17, 2026, saying country conditions had “improved” and that continued TPS was contrary to U.S. national interests — a decision grounded in DHS’s interagency review and legal standards but sharply contested by critics citing ongoing violence, drought and UN humanitarian findings [4] [5] [2] [6].
1. 1991 designation: emergency response to state collapse
The United States first designated Somalia for TPS in September 1991 after the overthrow of Siad Barre and the outbreak of a violent civil war that displaced hundreds of thousands, a determination tied directly to pervasive armed conflict and the inability of Somali authorities to receive returning nationals safely [1] [7].
2. Decades of renewals: law’s “temporary” becomes recurring practice
Over the next three decades successive administrations — Republican and Democratic — repeatedly renewed Somalia’s TPS, with public reporting citing roughly 27 extensions by 2026, reflecting the statutory practice of 18‑month designations extended when country conditions remain unsafe [6] [1] [3].
3. Evidence used to justify renewals: conflict, humanitarian crisis, environmental shocks
Renewals were justified by reports of persistent instability — ongoing al‑Shabaab violence, internal displacement, famine or drought and other humanitarian crises — often documented by UN agencies and reflected in State Department travel guidance and DHS country‑condition reviews that agencies used to assess ability to safely return nationals [2] [8] [5].
4. The Biden 2024 extension: procedural maximum and continuity
In September 2024 the Biden administration issued the maximum 18‑month extension that pushed TPS for Somalia through March 2026, a procedural use of the statute to maintain protections while monitoring on‑the‑ground conditions [2] [1] [3].
5. 2026 termination: DHS review, legal framing and stated evidence
On January 13, 2026 DHS announced it had consulted appropriate U.S. agencies, reviewed country conditions and concluded Somalia no longer met statutory requirements for TPS, framing the decision as both a legal determination and a policy statement that “temporary means temporary” [4] [5].
6. Contesting the termination: critics point to ongoing danger and small population affected
Immigration advocates and lawyers disputed the Noem decision, citing continued active conflict, humanitarian crises and UN reporting that, in their view, contradict DHS’s conclusion; they also note a small U.S. TPS Somali population — roughly 700 people as of spring 2025 — raising questions about the humanitarian impact versus political signaling [6] [2] [9].
7. Political context and legal levers: rhetoric, courts and future litigation
The termination sits inside a broader political push by the Trump administration to rescind multiple TPS designations and follows public rhetoric about Somalis by the president and statements that terminating TPS fits a national‑interest test; historically, attempts to end TPS for other countries have sparked litigation and injunctions, a path likely here as well [10] [9] [1].
8. Net change from 1991 to 2026: from emergency shelter to contested withdrawal
In sum, TPS for Somalia evolved from an emergency sanctuary tied to state collapse in 1991 into a repeatedly renewed protection justified by chronic insecurity and humanitarian evidence; by early 2026 DHS reversed course after interagency review, asserting improved conditions and ending the designation effective March 17, 2026 — a legal and political turning point that remains contested in evidence and motive [1] [5] [4] [6].