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An immigration crackdown south of the border is leading many Somalis to look for asylum in Manitoba, a Winnipeg refugee advocate says.<\/p>\n
Najib Warsame said many of the people he’s recently helped have come to the province to avoid being persecuted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.<\/p>\n
“Some [faced] uncertainty and were under stress because they’re targeted because of their ethnicity, as they’re Somalis,” Warsame said. “They\u00a0flee from possible deportation\u00a0and persecution.” <\/p>\n
The U.S. federal government has singled out Somalis in anti-immigration tirades, with Trump calling them “garbage”<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n The state of Minnesota, which shares a border with Manitoba, is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S. at roughly 80,000 people. The state’s Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul were the epicentre of an months-long immigration crackdown, leading to mass detentions<\/a> and protests over the winter.<\/p>\n Somalis “cannot work [like before]. They cannot stay there,” says Warsame, who works with a local refugee support organization. “So they’ve been moving \u2026 from the United States because of that reason.”<\/p>\n Somalia was set to lose its temporary protected status designation \u2014 which protects more than 1,000 Somali nationals <\/a>from deportation in the U.S. and gave them work permits \u2014 on March 17. The termination was paused by a U.S. federal judge days before it was set to expire.<\/p>\n Asylum claims for some of the other nationalities whose temporary protected status has been threatened or cancelled under the Trump administration \u2014 including Venezuelans, Haitians and Nepalese nationals \u2014 went up year-over-year in 2025, according to Canadian data showing the top countries of citizenship for asylum applicants.<\/p>\n That’s even as the overall number of claims dropped by 35 per cent in 2025, according to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada.<\/p>\n Shelter under pressure<\/p>\n In Winnipeg, the Salvation Army said that out of 73 refugees who stayed at its emergency shelter in the city between September and March 13, 41 came from the U.S. <\/p>\n The organization said it can’t provide further specifics about its clients, including their nationality.<\/p>\n Public relations officer Sara Djellal said in a statement an increase in demand driven by factors like housing affordability and economic pressures has put pressure on the shelter’s capacity.<\/p>\n Warsame said many recent arrivals \u2014 most of whom he said don’t have family or friends in Canada \u2014 face difficulties like overcrowded shelters and limited access to food.<\/p>\n “Despite the support, living conditions remain difficult,” Warsame said, adding they also can’t work while they wait for their immigration claims to be processed.<\/p>\n “Some individuals are waiting months\u00a0just to get an appointment for their applications,” he said. “On top of that,\u00a0they are dealing with stress,\u00a0uncertainty, and challenges navigating the system.” <\/p>\n Canada closing doors for asylum seekers: lawyer<\/p>\n Winnipeg-based immigration lawyer Alastair Clarke said Canada has closed its doors for asylum claimants coming to the U.S. <\/p>\n The new border reform law given royal assent last month<\/a> sets time limits on asylum claims, retroactively barring thousands who came to Canada more than a year prior from applying.<\/p>\n Bill C-12 also ends an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement<\/a> that allowed irregular border crossers to apply if they did so 14 days after arriving into Canada.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775561234_944_default.jpg\")
Najib Warsame says Somali asylum claimants often spend months unable to work as they wait for their immmigration claims to be processed. (Submitted by Najib Warsame)<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775561234_464_default.jpg\")
Winnipeg lawyer Alastair Clarke says new laws restricting access to asylum leave many claimants with no good options. (Karen Pauls\/CBC)<\/p>\n