Two major federal immigration operations were underway Wednesday in Minneapolis and New Orleans. They unfolded just as President Donald Trump delivered new attacks on Somali immigrants and on Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Civil rights groups say the timing and rhetoric are escalating fear in immigrant communities already bracing for enforcement actions.
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Omar responds to Trump’s comments
Trump on Wednesday launched a new round of criticism aimed at Somali immigrants, Minnesota’s largest immigrant community. He told reporters that “Somalians should be out of here” and claimed they had “destroyed our country.”
He said Somalia was “not even a nation” and that he hoped never to visit, drawing condemnation from Minneapolis officials.
The president then turned his ire to Omar, who is Somali American and a frequent target his attacks. He said, “You have her talking about ‘The constitution provides me with …’ Go back to your own country and figure out your constitution.”
Omar responded, saying, “Our president’s obsession with me and the Somali community really is creepy and unhealthy.”
She added that her constituents “are not going to be scapegoated” and “are here to stay.”
NBC News reporting indicates federal officials are preparing an enforcement operation in Minnesota that could focus heavily on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S.
Raids already underway in Minneapolis
Federal immigration agents began operations in Minneapolis just hours before Trump made the comments. Officials say they are targeting immigrants accused of serious crimes, though advocates warn the sweeps are casting a much wider net.
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What’s happening in New Orleans
In New Orleans, specifically in Kenner, a suburb with one of Louisiana’s largest Hispanic populations, residents saw Border Patrol agents in marked and unmarked vehicles driving slowly through neighborhoods, gas stations and big-box store parking lots, according to the Associated Press and NBC News.
Reporters observed agents stopping at least one man mowing a lawn and surrounding another home where a man climbed onto the roof until officers eventually left. Many agents wore Border Patrol identifiers but had their faces covered.
A DHS official said the New Orleans surge is aimed at immigrants accused of crimes including home invasion, armed robbery, grand theft auto and rape. The agency has blamed “sanctuary-style” local policies for allowing some people with ICE detainers to be released from custody.
Fear across immigrant neighborhoods
The tactics have rattled families across Jefferson Parish and surrounding communities.
A Honduran immigrant told Noticias Telemundo he has avoided leaving his home for two weeks.
“We’ve stopped going to work because our fear is that we’ll be stopped,” he said.
Community advocate Rocío Tirado told NBC News that only 8 of 140 children showed up to soccer practice the night before the raids began. He said so many parents were afraid to leave their homes.
Local mutual-aid groups have started deploying observers to document encounters, a strategy used in other cities to deter misconduct.
Scale of the operation
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CNN the administration aims to make 5,000 arrests “or beyond” during the New Orleans surge.
Officials say the focus is on “dangerous criminals,” but civil-rights groups argue the raids are sweeping up entire neighborhoods and fueling racial profiling in both states.
