On Friday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for 1,100 Somali residents, four days before that protection was set to expire. The judge noted that thousands of Somalis could face severe risks, including “detention and deportation, physical violence if removed to Somalia, and forced separation from family members.” Separately, on Monday the Supreme Court said it would soon decide whether to lift lower-court orders that have so far blocked the administration from ending TPS for more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians.
Mohamed is one of tens of thousands of people who may be torn away from their families, friends, schools, workplaces: in short, the lives they’ve spent building in the United States.
I work as senior policy counsel at Muslim Advocates, one of the organizations representing Somali and Syrian plaintiffs in these cases, and I’ve witnessed the devastating impact this uncertainty is having on our clients. Take Mohamed Doe, who has lived in the U.S. for years as a TPS holder from Somalia. His Temporary Protected Status is his sole basis for a work permit and driver’s license, both of which he needs to take care of himself and his pregnant wife. Mohamed works as an educator and a coach for two sports teams, serving as a critical source of career and educational guidance and counseling for his students. Now he and his family are in limbo as they await a final court decision.
Mohamed is one of tens of thousands of people who may be torn from their families, friends, schools, workplaces: in short, the lives they’ve spent years building in the United States. In addition to representing Somalis and Syrians, we are working with partner organizations to sue the administration for its procedurally flawed terminations of TPS for Ethiopian and South Sudanese immigrants, who would also face dangerous conditions in their countries of origin. Since assuming power, the Trump administration has sought to end TPS for 13 non-European countries, affecting almost 1 million Black, brown and Muslim people. He has also openly wished for more immigrants from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. That is racial discrimination dressed up as immigration policy.
Some courts have seen through the administration’s justifications. A U.S. district judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that it’s “substantially likely” that the Department of Homeland Security’s termination of TPS for Haitian refugees is due to “hostility to nonwhite immigrants,” shredding outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s claim that her focus was “national security.” Yet another U.S. district judge, in Northern California, found that Noem perpetuated xenophobic stereotypes and racist conspiracy theories in her drive to suspend TPS for Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepali immigrants. While Noem is on the way out at DHS, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., the president’s fiercely loyal nominee to replace her, is unlikely to hold a different point of view on TPS.
As the Trump administration attacks Black, Muslim and Latino immigrants who are here, it has also sought to block such immigrants from entering the country. Trump’s sweeping travel ban targets 39 countries, mostly Muslim-majority and African. A massive visa freeze on nationals from mostly African and Muslim-majority countries was based on racist public charge stereotypes. At Muslim Advocates, we’re also challenging a web of policies that have shut down other lawful pathways for thousands of people in the U.S., including TPS holders. The administration has even decimated the U.S.’ long-standing refugee program, setting the cap to just 7,500 people, the lowest it’s ever been, and has prioritized 4,500 of those slots for Afrikaners from South Africa.
Trump’s sweeping travel ban targets 39 countries, mostly Muslim-majority and African.
These discriminatory policies are rooted in decades of successive U.S. administrations wielding national security policy as cover for racist, undemocratic power grabs. President George W. Bush created DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement after 9/11, drastically expanded the government’s immigration enforcement powers and ushered in an era of surveillance, detention and deportation that disproportionately targeted Muslims, Arabs and South Asians. These policies have torn families and communities apart, eroded civil liberties and created an atmosphere of fear and distrust that still exists today.
We must not allow politicians to use sham national security justifications to target and exclude our neighbors. Immigrants, faith leaders, civil rights groups and other community members are organizing, protesting and going to court to challenge the Trump administration’s policies. The lawsuit filed by Somali TPS holders is part of a broader effort to ensure that the government doesn’t arbitrarily strip people of protections they have relied on for years, or use discrimination to do so. The grassroots efforts and ongoing litigation are necessary, but Congress must also take action to prohibit discrimination and create pathways to lawful status for immigrants who have built their lives here. The NO BAN Act, legislation that would prevent future presidents from enacting discriminatory entry bans, and the Secure Act, which would provide TPS and Deferred Enforced Departure recipients with a pathway to permanent residency, were both reintroduced in Congress last year and are worthy of attention and support. The devastation of the past year can serve as fertile ground to work toward such comprehensive solutions. The United States has long provided safe haven for people fleeing crises and seeking to rebuild their lives, and Americans have wholeheartedly rejected this administration’s cruel, lawless and racist rampages by taking to the streets in protest, speaking out and organizing. Their efforts have forced leadership and policy shifts at the top, but the struggle is far from over. As families wait in agony for favorable final outcomes in the TPS cases, we must continue to demand policies that make this country a welcoming and safe place for new Americans.
Sumayyah Waheed is senior policy counsel for Muslim Advocates. 
