00:00...of Washington, and a big announcement from President Trump about Somalis living in Minnesota.
00:04Tonight, the president posted on Truth Social, quote,
00:07I am, as president of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately,
00:13the temporary protected status for Somalis in Minnesota.
00:17Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state,
00:21and billions of dollars are missing.
00:24Send them back to where they came from, end quote.
00:27Now, we're working to learn the legality of the president's plan and the potential impact.
00:32We know Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the United States,
00:36with the last estimate by Minnesota Compass at more than 79,000 people.
00:41Callum Gray is working on this in the newsroom, and Callum, reaction is coming in fast tonight.
00:45That's right. Just in the last hour, Governor Walz responding, saying, quote,
00:49It is not surprising the president has chosen to broadly target an entire community.
00:54This is what he does to change the subject, end quote.
00:57Congress member Ilhan Omar, also pushing back, posted on X, quote,
01:01I am a citizen, and so are the majority of Somalis in America.
01:05Good luck celebrating a policy change that really doesn't have much impact on the Somalis you love to hate.
01:10We are here to stay.
01:12According to National Immigration Forum, as of October, there were 705 people from Somalia in the U.S.
01:18with TPS, and we're working to get the total count here in Minnesota.
01:22Temporary protected status is meant for those whose home countries are experiencing civil unrest, violence, or natural disasters.
01:30Somali immigrants have been eligible since 1991.
01:33The Department of Homeland Security says this was most recently extended through March of next year.
01:38Homeland Security has the discretion to designate a country for TPS for periods of 6 to 18 months
01:45and can extend it if the country continues to meet the conditions for designation.
01:50I just spoke with Julia Decker with the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.
01:53She explained,
01:54Typically, TPS terminations have to be posted on the federal register before the date the country's designation is set to
02:01expire.
02:02I just checked Homeland Security's website in the last few minutes, and Somalia is still listed.
02:07Decker also explained this is not done state by state,
02:10so the federal government will have to end TPS for all Somali immigrants, not just those here in Minnesota.
02:15The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations tonight says
02:20this will tear families apart, calling it a political attack based on hateful rhetoric
02:25and urging the president to reverse the decision.
02:28But Republicans are praising the announcement.
02:30Republican State House Speaker Lisa Damath, who is running for governor,
02:34shared the president's post saying,
02:35quote,
02:36President Trump is right.
02:37Fraud is out of control and unacceptable.
02:39Going on to say anyone involved in these criminal activities should be swiftly deported
02:43if they are not lawfully present in the U.S.
02:46Republican House Majority Whip Tom Ember tonight thanked the president.
02:50Kevin?
02:50Okay, that's Kellen Gray.
02:51Now, Minnesota's Republican delegation in Congress, including Tom Ember,
02:56shared a letter with us that they just sent to U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Daniel Rosen.
03:01And in this letter, they're asking for an investigation into Governor Walz's, quote,
03:06inaction and improper handling of fraud.
03:09They're also asking for Rosen to look into reports.
03:11Minnesota taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the Al-Shabaab terrorist network in Somalia,
03:18A source in the U.S. Attorney's Office tells us they don't have an exact dollar amount.
03:23However, says, quote,
03:24Al-Shabaab controls much of Somalia and imposes a tax on all financial activity in the areas it controls.
03:30So a decent amount of feeding our future and other fraud money almost certainly ended up in the hands of
03:36Al-Shabaab indirectly, end quote.
03:38So a resolute.
