US President Donald Trump launched a verbal attack on Somali immigrants on Tuesday, as federal officials prepare to launch a major immigration crackdown targeting hundreds of undocumented Somalis in the state of Minnesota.
In a lengthy speech to reporters, Trump said he does not want Somali immigrants in the United States, claiming that residents of the East African country have “contributed nothing” to the United States while relying on aid. Trump has not provided any evidence to support these claims.
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It was just the latest in a string of scathing verbal attacks by the US president on the country’s Somali community. He posted similar comments on social media last week and during his first term as president. Trump has also taken frequent verbal targets Ilhan OmarA congressional representative who is a US citizen of Somali descent.
With the exception of white South Africans, for whom the U.S. has raised quotas, the president appears to focus on immigrants from developing countries with harsh comments or policies.
The US has Paused immigration 19 countries considered “high risk”, cited last week Fatal shooting Two National Guard members from Afghan Nationals. At the end of October, the Trump administration Reduced the number of refugees The US will accept just 7,500 next year – the lowest number since the 1980 refugee law – with preference given to white South Africans.
Then, on Tuesday, US media reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would conduct operations in the Somali neighborhood in the coming days.
Most of the Somali diaspora has settled in America in the last 50 years. Here’s what we know about why Trump is targeting the community now.
What did Trump say?
Speaking to reporters after a US Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he did not want Somalis in America and described them as “garbage”.
“We can go one way or the other, and if we keep littering our country, we’re going to go the wrong way,” he said.
“They don’t contribute anything. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” Trump told reporters, without clarifying whether he was referring to citizens or illegal immigrants.
“Some people will say, ‘Oh, it’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care … their country is not good for a reason … your country stinks and we don’t want them in our country,” he said.
“These are people who do nothing but complain,” Trump added. “They complain, and where they came from, they got nothing … When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but dogs, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and make it right.”
Last week, in an address to the nation following the shooting of two National Guard members, in which one was killed and another seriously injured, Trump ordered a “re-examination” of people from 19 blacklisted countries with US green or permanent resident cards.
He then pointed to the Somali community in Minnesota in that address, saying, “Millions and thousands of Somalis are tearing apart our country and tearing apart a once great state.”
US media reported Tuesday that an ICE operation targeting Somali communities in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area will take place in the next few days.
The sweep by ICE officials will round up undocumented people for deportation, the AP reported, citing a person familiar with the plans.
At least 100 ICE agents are expected to flood the area. The New York Times, citing sources close to the plan, said that Somalis could also step up in the process of gaining legal status.
Several states have experienced ICE raids on undocumented people in recent months, including Chicago, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, and Phoenix. According to the Department of Homeland Security, at least 527,000 people were deported from the US since the Trump administration took office in January through October.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz slammed the Minneapolis plan, saying that while the state welcomed support for prosecuting the crime, “pulling PR stunts and indiscriminately targeting immigrants is not a real solution to the problem”.
City officials condemned President Trump’s attack on the Somali community at a press conference Tuesday and vowed not to cooperate with ICE agents conducting immigration checks.
“Obviously, this is a frightening moment for our Somali community,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, describing the potential move as “terrifying.”
“That’s not American. That’s not what we’re about,” he said. “To our Somali community, we love you and we stand with you.”
Minneapolis City Council member Jamal Osman, who came to the U.S. from Somalia when he was 14, told the conference: “I know a lot of families are scared … the city of Minneapolis stands behind you.”
“Somali Americans are here to stay,” he added. “We love this state. We love this country. This is home. We’re not going anywhere.”
yes On November 21, Trump announced on his Truth social platform that he was “immediately” ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali immigrants in Minnesota, referring to a program designed to provide emergency asylum to people whose countries are in crisis. About 705 Somalis are in that program.
Without providing evidence, Trump claimed that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state” and accused Governor Walz, without evidence, of overseeing a state that has become a “hotbed of fraudulent money laundering activity.”
“Send them back where they came from,” Trump said. “It’s over!
Trump’s accusations against the Somali community come after conservative activist Christopher Ruffo published allegations of welfare fraud against Somalis in Minnesota in a magazine called City Journal on November 19.
In the report, Ruffo, citing an unnamed “anti-terrorism source” and a police detective, claimed that Somalis benefiting from US welfare programs were sending large sums of money back to their country, and some of that money ended up with al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked armed group, controlling parts of rural Somalia.
One of the programs Ruffo referred to was fraudulent – the privately funded, $300m Feeding Our Future charity programme, which falsely claimed to have fed millions of children during the COVID-19 crisis but instead stole state funds.
Federal prosecutors have indicted Amy Bock, who is white, and several Somali-Americans.
In July, Somalia became one of 12 countries whose citizens a US travel ban. A similar travel ban was imposed during the first Trump administration.
Why did Trump target Ilhan Umar?
Trump made disparaging remarks about Democratic Congresswoman Omar during his Tuesday attack, calling her “garbage.”
Omar, 43, who immigrated to the US from Somalia as a child in 1995, has represented her Minnesota district in the US Congress since 2019 and has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration.
“She’s an incompetent person; she’s a real horrible person,” Trump said Tuesday, adding without evidence that Omar “hates everybody” and is anti-Semitic.
Trump’s verbal attacks on Omar are not new. The president has repeatedly criticized her representative, regularly picking on her hijab and style of dressing.
Omar responded to Trump’s latest comments on Tuesday, saying: “His obsession with me is terrifying.”
His obsession with me is terrible. I hope he gets the help he needs. https://t.co/pxOpAChHse
– Ilhan Umar (@IlhanMN) 2 December 2025
Omar pushed back against claims that Minnesota funds have been diverted to al-Shabaab or that Somali gangs are at large in the state. “I challenge you to come forward with evidence … if there is any,” she said at a briefing last week. “You can’t blame an entire community for the actions of a few.”
About 260,000 people of Somali descent currently live in the US, according to data from the US Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. They are among the largest Somali communities outside of Somalia, with other major diaspora communities found in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Sweden, and Canada.
Some Somalis came to the US as students in the 1960s after the then-British Somaliland gained independence. Later, large waves of people fled the troubled East African country A long civil warwhich arose out of armed resistance to the military government of dictator Mohammed Siad Barre. It lasted from 1988 to 2000, even as the government continued to fight insurgent groups and armed militants.
Most Somalis in the US live in Minnesota, where many social programs exist, particularly in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, home to 63,000 people of Somali descent. The states of Ohio (21,000), Washington (15,000), Virginia (3,953), Georgia (3,538) and California also have significant populations, according to the World Population Review.
How is the Somali diaspora faring in the US?
There are hundreds of Somali businesses in Minneapolis, mostly in retail and food services, and including restaurants, grocery stores, and clothing stores.
According to a 2017 report by local publication Minnpost, Somalis who arrived in the state during their native country’s civil war often faced challenges learning English, but were able to take unskilled jobs such as in meatpacking plants.
As the community grew, more Somalis entered the fields of finance, health, and education. He also started entering local politics. In 2019, Omar made history as the first Somali-American representative in the US Congress.
According to a 2023 report by the Minnesota State Government, the median age of Somalis in Minnesota is 19. Most (53,000) speak English professionally or with limited proficiency, but this group has the lowest level of educational attainment among the state’s foreign-born population.
Somalis are often described as active in the labor force, although more Somali men than women are employed. According to a 2016 report by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, contrary to Trump’s claim that Somalis do not work in the US, about 84 percent of male Somali refugees between the ages of 25 and 64 were employed in the state of Kentucky, compared to 64 percent of females.
About 58 percent of Somalis in Minnesota were born in the United States. About 87 percent of those born abroad are naturalized citizens. About half of this group entered the US in 2010 or later.
U.S. officials have struggled in the past to prevent the recruitment of young Somali-American men by al-Shabaab and other armed groups. In 2007, more than 20 Somali-American men traveled to Somalia to join al-Shabaab. However, only a few cases have been reported since then. In September, a 23-year-old man from Minnesota pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to join a designated armed group.
Minneapolis has one of the most vibrant Somali-American communities in the country. The City works every day to ensure that Minneapolis is a welcoming place for all, regardless of immigration status. More: https://t.co/FYJkJO3ZXx pic.twitter.com/t2Y8LwDVoX
— City of Minneapolis (@CityMinneapolis) 2 December 2025