Boston, Massachusetts - A new lawsuit is challenging the Trump administration's attempt to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalia.

African Communities Together, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, and four Somali plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on Monday in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The complaint challenges the Department of Homeland Security's decision to terminate TPS for Somali nationals on March 17, arguing that it violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the US Constitution in punishing Somali nationals based on their race and national origin.

The suit also cites racist statements made by President Donald Trump since he posted on Truth Social in November that he would end TPS for Somalis in Minnesota. These include calling Somali people "garbage" and "low IQ people."

TPS is a temporary legal status granted to nationals of designated countries who cannot safely return due to war, natural disasters, or other "extraordinary" conditions.

Somalia received its first TPS designation in 1991. The protections were most recently extended in July 2024 "due to conditions in Somalia that prevent individuals from safely returning," according to DHS.

"The termination of TPS for Somalia is racism masking as immigration policy," Muslim Advocates Executive Director Omar Farah said in a statement shared by Reuters.

If allowed to go into effect next week, the TPS termination would affect nearly 1,100 people currently living in the US, the outlet reported.