President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about Somali Americans and recent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are creating a culture of fear in some Minneapolis neighborhoods, residents say.
In areas that were revitalized by Somali immigration, Minneapolis’ Lake Street corridor among them, businesses have reported a slowdown in activity as employees and customers alike remain fearful of crossing paths with federal personnel. U.S. citizens of Somali descent say they have become accustomed to carrying their passports at all times, particularly after ICE agents tackled and detained one Somali American and reportedly forced another to spend more than 24 hours in custody. Other Minneapolis residents have accused the agents of assaulting observers.
In a statement responding to allegations of wrongdoing, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “ICE law enforcement officers have arrested more than 400 illegal aliens, including pedophiles, rapists and violent thugs” since the start of its Minnesota immigration enforcement operation. She accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who held a press conference with a Somali American briefly detained by ICE, of “demonizing our brave law enforcement.”
In recent weeks, Trump has targeted Somali Americans with an intense volley of vulgar attacks, deriding Somalia as a “s–––hole,” accusing Somali immigrants of forming gangs to “prey” on “wonderful people” and claiming Minnesota Somalis specifically “contribute nothing” to the country.
Despite a study by economist Bruce Corrie that found Somali Minnesotans earn at least $500 million in income annually and pay about $67 million in state and local taxes, Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania this month that he doesn’t “want them in the country.”
“We always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they’re good at is going after ships,” Trump said at the Pennsylvania event, ostensibly intended to address the issue of affordability.
Despite a study by economist Bruce Corrie that found Somali Minnesotans earn at least $500 million in income annually and pay about $67 million in state and local taxes, Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania this month that he doesn’t “want them in the country.”
Trump has targeted immigrants from specific countries before. During his 2016 campaign, he labeled many Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “criminals.” In his first term, he sought repeatedly to ban travel to the U.S. from nine majority-Muslim countries as well as Venezuela and North Korea, and derided Haiti and African nations as “s–––hole countries” in a meeting with senators. In his 2024 campaign, he claimed without evidence that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating cats and dogs. After a man granted asylum from Afghanistan allegedly shot two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., Trump derided the country as a “hellhole on Earth.”
His attacks on Somali Americans are paired with criticism of two prominent Democrats: Walz, who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-born member of Congress.
“We don’t want you in our country, we don’t want you,” Trump said at the Pennsylvania event. “I mean, Ilhan Omar and the people from Somalia. They hate our country, and they think we’re stupid people.”
Those remarks came as the Justice Department announced the prosecution of more than 90 people, many part of the Somali diaspora, in connection with a massive fraud scheme in Minnesota that saw hundreds of millions of dollars siphoned from public health programs of the Covid-19 era.
Political leaders in Minnesota have praised the investigation while cautioning that the Somali community — which totals more than 75,000 people in the state — should not be judged by the actions of a few dozen.
“As long as there are programs aimed at helping people, there will be fraudulent actors looking to steal from those who need help the most. Our job is to stay one step ahead of them,” Walz wrote in an op-ed.
“What is not helpful is the president of the United States demonizing an entire community.”
The White House says that its immigration action in Minnesota is focusing on “the worst of the worst,” but it comes alongside Trump’s targeting of Somalis. Omar has said the operation amounts to “militarized racial terror” and cites allegations of rampant racial profiling, which the administration has vehemently denied. That is a sentiment that has been echoed by Yusra Mohamud, an adviser with the Lake Street Council. “I know, just from talking to my parents and my family and my friends and my community in general, and even just me living here my entire life, I’ve never experienced anything ever like this,” Mohamud said. “I think it all stems down from the federal crisis that we’re in, and from the words that came from our president’s office.” In the closing moments of the 2024 election, Trump bashed then-President Joe Biden for referring to a segment of Trump’s supporters as “garbage” during a virtual event, framing it as further dividing an already divided country. “On top of everything, Joe Biden calls our supporters ‘garbage.’ You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We are welcoming historic numbers of Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. It is my desire to be the President of all the people.” That message from Trump helped earn him the vote of at least one Somali Minnesotan, who now simply wants Trump to remember his own words. “I definitely regret my vote,” 28-year-old Abdel Rasak said. “At the end of the day, no matter what race, where you are from, we are all human beings.” This is a preview of MS NOW’s Project 47 Newsletter. As President Trump continues implementing his ambitious agenda, get expert analysis on the administration’s latest actions and how others are pushing back sent straight to your inbox every Tuesday. Sign up now.
Nnamdi Egwuonwu is a reporter for MS NOW. Recommended
