Winnipeg advocates say Trump’s targeting of Somali migrants is pushing some north

Arturo Chang Wednesday April 8, 2026

Najib Warsame says Somali asylum claimants often spend months unable to work as they wait for their immigration claims to be processed. (Submitted by Najib Warsame)

A hard-line immigration push in the United States is sending more Somalis to Manitoba in search of asylum, according to a Winnipeg refugee advocate who says anxiety in the community has risen sharply.

Najib Warsame said many of the people he has recently assisted came to the province after feeling targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

“Some [faced] uncertainty and were under stress because they’re targeted because of their ethnicity, as they’re Somalis,” Warsame said. “They flee from possible deportation and persecution.”

The U.S. federal government has singled out Somalis in anti-immigration tirades, with Trump calling them “garbage” and saying he doesn’t want them in his country. The U.S. president has repeatedly accused the community of stealing billions from Minnesota, based on a fraud case in which dozens of Somali Americans were charged.

Minnesota, which borders Manitoba, is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S., at roughly 80,000 people. Its Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul became the focal point of a months-long immigration crackdown that brought mass detentions and winter protests.

“Somalis cannot work [like before]. They cannot stay there,” Warsame said, noting he works with a local refugee support organization. “So they’ve been moving … from the United States because of that reason.”

Somalia was scheduled to lose its temporary protected status designation — a measure that shields more than 1,000 Somali nationals from deportation in the U.S. and allows them to work — on March 17. A U.S. federal judge paused the termination days before it was due to take effect.

Asylum claims from some of the other nationalities whose temporary protected status has been threatened or revoked under the Trump administration — including Venezuelans, Haitians and Nepalese nationals — increased year-over-year in 2025, according to Canadian data on the top countries of citizenship for asylum applicants.

That came even as the overall number of claims fell by 35 per cent in 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said.

Abdikheir Ahmed, executive director of Resilia Community Wellness Centre, said community reports and conversations with Somalis who came from the U.S. suggest about 150 people crossed the border between December and February.

More claimants as weather warms

Ahmed said the total could be higher by several dozen because some arrivals have not yet been reached.

“We had a lot of people cross the border during the cold conditions,” he said, adding that he has also heard several others are staying “underground” in the U.S. until the weather improves.

“We expect an influx of many other refugee claimants from Somalia or any other country that’s … facing similar circumstances in the U.S. coming across the border … between now and throughout the summer.”

Ahmed, whose organization helps newcomers access mental health supports, said many Somalis — including naturalized American citizens — fear that they or family members could leave for work or school and be “caught” and then prevented from returning home.

“Somalis are resilient people,” he said. “Having said that, what Trump said and how Trump and his regime targeted the Somali population in Minnesota has really put an anxiety to a different level amongst the community members.”

In Winnipeg, the Salvation Army said 41 of the 73 refugees who stayed at its emergency shelter in the city between September and March 13 had come from the U.S.

The organization said it could not provide additional details about clients, including their nationality.

Public relations officer Sara Djellal said in a statement that rising demand tied to issues such as housing affordability and broader economic pressures has strained the shelter’s capacity.

Warsame said many of the newest arrivals — most of whom, he said, do not have family or friends in Canada — are dealing with overcrowded shelters and limited access to food.

“Despite the support, living conditions remain difficult,” Warsame said, adding that they are also unable to work while their immigration claims are being processed.

“Some individuals are waiting months just to get an appointment for their applications,” he said. “On top of that, they are dealing with stress, uncertainty, and challenges navigating the system.”

Canada closing doors for asylum seekers: lawyer

Winnipeg-based immigration lawyer Alastair Clarke said Canada has shut the door on asylum claimants arriving from the U.S.

The border reform law that received royal assent last month imposes time limits on asylum claims, retroactively barring thousands of people who arrived in Canada more than a year ago from applying.

Bill C-12 also removes an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement that allowed irregular border crossers to apply if they waited 14 days after arriving in Canada.

Some organizations, including Amnesty International, have said the legislation amounts to an assault on refugee rights.

Clarke said he has been notified that several of his clients’ asylum claims may now be ruled ineligible under the new law — including some from Somalia.

“The United States right now, as far as I’m concerned, does not protect asylum seekers. I hear stories almost every day about the atrocities and human rights violations,” Clarke said.

“Under the changes, many of those individuals are not going to have their claim heard in Canada and I don’t know what they’re going to do. But I genuinely am afraid — I’m very concerned for those individuals, because they have no good options.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement that the new laws strengthen the integrity of the asylum system and ensure it remains sustainable as migration pressures grow around the world.

The government said safeguards remain in place for people who could face serious harm if deported, and that claimants whose applications are rejected can still seek a pre-removal risk assessment.

Clarke said that process is largely a “paper-based decision” made by government officials, unlike cases referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

There are “no rules of civil procedure. No rules of evidence,” he said. “It will be a decision made by an IRCC officer.”