The State Department is freezing all immigration from Somalia after an internal investigation found that the “vast majority of Somali migrants take welfare once present in the United States,” the Daily Caller has learned.

The freeze is expected to remain in place while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures. The effort is meant to “prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would become a public charge on the American people,” the State Department shared with the Caller.

The State Department will freeze immigration from approximately 75 countries, including Somalia, on Jan. 21.

“Under President Trump, we will not allow aliens to abuse America’s immigration system and exploit the generosity of the American people. For years, foreign nationals from Somalia have entered the United States and extracted wealth from the American taxpayer, including by taking welfare at obscene rates,” Deputy Principal Spokesperson Tommy Pigott told the Caller.

“The Trump administration is exercising the State Department’s long-standing authority to end this abuse of our immigration system,” he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and oil and gas executives in the East Room of the White House on January 9, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Somali community, especially in Minnesota, has been under fire following a report that accused some of stealing millions in taxpayer funds through fraud schemes.

There are about 80,000 Somalis in Minnesota alone, and a majority are foreign-born, according to the Minnesota Compass. Overall, most of the community lives in the Minneapolis region.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Tuesday that it is ending Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals living in the United States. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Somali Official Shows How Entrenched The ‘Fraud Pipeline’ Really Is)

DHS also deployed more officers to the Minneapolis region to arrest illegal aliens. Numerous child rapists, murderers and other illegal migrant convicted criminals have been arrested by deportation officers.

“Temporary means temporary,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a public statement. “Country conditions in Somalia have improved to the point that it no longer meets the law’s requirement for Temporary Protected Status.”