image source, Aj Awer
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- Author, Brandon Drenon
- Author title, BBCNews
Somali-Americans in Minnesota described their growing fear after US President Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of the community this week.
Community officials told the BBC that the “concern was palpable” after Trump said he did not want Somalis in the United States and that the country would be “going in the wrong direction if we continued to receive garbage.”
“When you’re attacked by the president of the United States, it’s not a good feeling,” said Aj Awed, executive director of the Cedar-Riverside Community Council, which represents a city known as “Little Mogadishu” because of its large Somali population.
Concern has also increased following reports that authorities in Minnesota have launched a police operation against undocumented immigrants.
Awed said the council would discuss in person the risks to an annual event planned for next week due to the operation.
“This affects people who don’t speak English particularly well but have been citizens for decades,” he said. “Just because you have an accent doesn’t mean you’re any less American.”
Trump made disparaging comments at the White House on Tuesday, criticizing the Somali community. “I don’t want them in our country to be honest… their country is useless for a reason,” he said.
Awed called the comments “dangerous,” adding that “attacking other Americans is not like a president.”
image source, Getty Images
The president was responding to a question about whether Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz should resign amid allegations of large-scale fraud in a federal welfare program.
Dozens of people have been charged in connection with a scheme federal prosecutors said involved a charity fraudulently billing the Minnesota government for children’s meals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Kayseh Magan, a former investigator for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, several Somali immigrants were involved in this alleged scheme, which ultimately cost the state tens of millions of dollars.
While those accused of participating represent only a small portion of Minnesota’s large Somali population, Trump has repeatedly criticized the community.
He wrote in a post last month that the state had become a “center of fraudulent money laundering activities” and claimed last week that “hundreds of thousands of Somalis are defrauding our country.”
On Wednesday, the House Oversight Committee announced the opening of an investigation into Walz’s handling of the relief plan.
The Trump administration said it was also investigating allegations that Minnesota taxpayer money was funneled to al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group based in Somalia.
When asked about these claims last month, Walz said: “You don’t want to lump a whole group of people together, demonize them and put them at risk when there’s no evidence to support it.”
“But if you want to help us and track down the criminals and make sure there’s no connection or find out where the money went, we’ll be grateful.”
“Anyone who looks like me is afraid”
Minneapolis City Council member Jamal Osman moved to the United States at age 14 and is a naturalized citizen.
“Anyone who looks like me is scared right now,” he told CBS News.
Regarding the fraud allegations that Trump repeatedly mentioned in his criticism of the Somali community, Osman said: “My community is outraged. Yes, there are people who commit crimes, but you shouldn’t blame an entire community for what a few have done.”
image source, Abdilatif Hassan
The Trump administration has revoked Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program for immigrants from troubled countries, for Somali residents living in Minnesota.
According to authorities, the immigration operation would focus on those who have received final deportation orders. According to CBS News, the BBC’s American partner, this operation began on Wednesday.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is already there,” said Kowsar Mohamed, a south Minneapolis resident. More than 80,000 people of Somali descent live in the city.
“We’re seeing activity on the ground: people just being pulled off the street and asked about their immigration status. That’s not a data-driven approach,” he said.
Most people have the necessary identification, so the fear lies not in tests but in mistakes.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, denied that people were being targeted because of their race.
“Every day, ICE enforces the laws of the land across the country,” said Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “What makes someone a target of ICE is not their race or ethnicity, but the fact that they are in the country illegally.”
Local community organizations expected immigration enforcement to be stepped up, but they stepped up their preparations after Trump’s comments, Mohamed said.
One organization, Monarca, has planned “legal observer training” in Minneapolis to educate people about their rights if they witness federal immigration activity.
Other ways the community is preparing, Mohamed said, include providing emergency contacts in case of encounters with ICE, as well as private messaging groups where people share photos of unmarked cars and masked agents.
“Everyone will remain cautious,” he said. “Is there fear? Of course. But no one will hide.”
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