Deportation orders involving Somali nationals have surged in Minnesota this year as the Trump administration accelerates asylum cases and expands immigration enforcement across the state.
More than 500 Somali immigrants living in Minnesota have been ordered removed from the United States in 2026.
That marks a nearly tenfold increase from 2025.
Nationwide, more than 1,000 Somali asylum-seekers have received deportation orders since February, with more than half of those cases involving people living in Minnesota.
Some have already been deported.
Others have been transferred to detention facilities outside the state, including Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The sharp rise follows a series of immigration policy changes implemented by the Trump administration.
Among them was the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals.
The administration has also moved aggressively to speed up immigration court proceedings involving Somali asylum-seekers.
In February, federal officials established an expedited process that immigration attorneys dubbed the “rocket docket.”
The change allowed judges to hear Somali asylum cases much faster, often through remote proceedings.
Cases that had originally been scheduled far into the future were suddenly moved onto accelerated timelines.
Nearly every Somali removal decision issued during the first eight months of 2026 involved immigrants placed on the expedited docket.
The administration says the faster process is necessary to reduce delays and enforce federal immigration law.
An immigration court spokesperson pointed to federal requirements calling for asylum applications to be resolved within 180 days when possible.
“Unnecessary delay hurts both aliens with meritorious claims and the American public who wish to see aliens with non-meritorious claims removed as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.
The new approach comes as the national immigration system remains overwhelmed by roughly 2.3 million pending asylum applications.
Federal officials tightened the process further in July by shifting supervision of some Somali asylum claims into immigration court.
Immigration attorneys and advocacy groups have criticized the changes.
They argue that moving cases faster can leave asylum-seekers with less time to prepare legal arguments and gather evidence.
Some have also objected to the administration’s decision to transfer certain detainees to Guantánamo Bay.
“Think of the taxpayer dollars it takes to do this,” immigration attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“They are using every lever possible to terrorize and scare people.”
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the crackdown as part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to enforce existing immigration laws, per Trending Politics.
“If you come to our country illegally, you could end up in Guantánamo Bay or even another third country,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said.
The enforcement push accelerated after Operation Metro Surge began in Minnesota last December.
Federal immigration agents detained roughly 3,800 people during the operation.
Just over 100 of those arrested were Somali nationals.
After that operation, the administration shifted more of its attention toward immigration courts.
Federal authorities have also used third-country deportation agreements to remove immigrants to nations other than their country of origin.
ICE has defended those arrangements as another way to enforce final removal orders.
“Third country agreements are helping close one of the loopholes in our immigration system that has far too often been abused with false claims,” ICE said.
ICE has also defended transfers to Guantánamo Bay.
The agency said some detainees sent there had criminal histories involving aggravated assault, weapons offenses, robbery, larceny, obstruction, drug charges and DUIs.
The tougher approach has also reignited debate over whether Somali asylum-seekers can safely be returned to Somalia.
Federal officials have presented evidence in immigration proceedings arguing that conditions in parts of the country have improved.
At the same time, the State Department continues to warn American travelers about terrorism, kidnapping and violent crime there.
Despite the surge in removal orders, some Somali applicants are still winning protection in immigration court.
Of the 148 Somali applicants who prevailed in their cases in 2026, more than 70% were women.
Threats involving female genital mutilation remained among the grounds on which asylum protections were granted.
The majority of Minnesota’s Somali population consists of U.S. citizens or legal residents.
Only a small portion were covered by Temporary Protected Status.
Still, the rise in deportation orders has created uncertainty across the state’s large Somali community.
“This has been much more dangerous and harmful to families,” immigration advocate Ahmed said.
The numbers show a major shift in the way Somali immigration cases are being handled in Minnesota.
Cases that once remained unresolved for long periods are now moving through immigration court much faster.
At the same time, deportation orders have climbed sharply under the Trump administration.
For Minnesota’s Somali community, the result has been a dramatic change in enforcement — and a much greater likelihood that unresolved asylum cases will quickly end in removal orders.
