NEWS RELEASE
Rochester Delegation
Minnesota House of Representatives
5th Floor, Centennial Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marlee Schlegel
651-296-9873 or marlee.schlegel@house.mn.gov
November 24, 2025
Minnesota House Rochester Delegation responds to Trump plan to terminate protected status for Somali Minnesotans
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - On Friday, President Trump announced intent to remove Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from Somali individuals who are in the U.S. due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Somalia. This morning, a community response was held in the Capitol Rotunda.
Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), Rep. Andy Smith (DFL – Rochester), and Rep. Kim Hicks (DFL – Rochester) released the following statement:
“The authoritarian Trump regime is abducting our neighbors and friends, people who came here to seek a better life. They are assaulting the freedoms we all value. Recently, Trump threatened to take away safeguards for Somali Minnesotans who moved to Minnesota to seek safety for themselves and their families.
Most Somali immigrants in Minnesota are American citizens, and many Minnesotans of Somali descent were born here. Trump’s hateful rhetoric and destructive policies are just another attempt to turn Americans against each other to distract from his own corruption and the harm he is doing to our nation.
Let’s be brave enough to stand together as Americans have done for generations, welcoming those who come here seeking what all of us want: safety, religious freedom, and the chance to build a better future.”
On Saturday, the House People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus released a statement in response. That statement can be found here.
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