Federal immigration officers are targeting Somali nationals living in Minnesota after President Donald Trump referred to the refugees as “garbage.” Twin Cities officials condemned Trump’s remarks and shared fears about how the new enforcement operation will affect Minnesotans.
At Trump’s final Cabinet meeting of the year on Tuesday, he made a series of derogatory comments about Somali refugees in Minnesota, their contributions and the stability of their home country. The U.S. Department of State issued a level four “Do Not Travel” advisory in May for Somalia, warning travelers about an extreme risk of terrorism and violent crime and about a lack of routine consular services.
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“I don’t want them in our country,” Trump told the Cabinet. “Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks and we don’t want them in our country.”
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 41,748 foreign-born Somalis called Minnesota home in 2024.
He reserved some of his harshest remarks for Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a Somali refugee who is a naturalized U.S. citizen.
“We’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” Trump said. “Ilhan Omar is garbage, she’s garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people that work.”
Omar said Wednesday that Trump’s “obsession with me and the Somali community really is creepy and unhealthy.”
But hours after Trump spoke to the Cabinet, The Associated Press and other news organizations reported that federal immigration agents were planning an operation to round up Somalis in the Minneapolis area. The end goal, according to the AP and The New York Times, is to arrest Somalis under final deportation orders as well as those who are seeking authorization from courts to remain in the U.S.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, about 3.8% of Minnesota’s 5.7 million residents are not U.S. citizens. The state is home to the largest share of Somalis in the U.S.
Enforcement targets Somali refugees
According to The New York Times, immigration officers are expected to begin patrolling Minneapolis and St. Paul this week for Somali immigrants.
The operation is the latest enforcement after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said her office would review Somalis’ eligibility for Temporary Protected Status, which is granted to people coming from countries in crisis, the Times reported on Nov. 23.
And the Treasury Department launched an investigation Monday into Minnesota’s welfare programs after Trump claimed the state is a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the investigation on X and said it focuses on allegations the state’s tax dollars were being sent to al-Shabaab, a militant group in Somalia.
The investigation and Trump’s comments are a response to a report in the City Journal, a conservative publication, that claimed Somali immigrants were running the scheme.
‘Due process will be violated’
Twin Cities officials held a joint press conference Wednesday condemning Trump’s remarks and the immigration operation expected for their cities. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said as many as 100 federal agents would be deployed to the Twin Cities. He added the officials were not given advance notice and said local police would not collaborate with federal agents for immigration enforcement.
“Targeting Somali people means that due process will be violated,” Frey said. “Mistakes will be made and let’s be clear, it means that American citizens will be detained for no other reason than the fact that they look like they are Somali.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said immigrants throughout the city have been experiencing fear for some time.
He said some are afraid to attend church, shop at small businesses and to call police when help is needed. That feeling, he said, makes the city unsafe as people feel emboldened to harm fearful immigrants.
“The fear that the community has been experiencing — immigrant communities have been experiencing — in this city is real,” O’Hara said.
