Ilhan Omar, Minnesota DFL Leaders Condemn Trump’s Attack on Somali Community

MINNEAPOLIS — Rep. Ilhan Omar and leaders of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party on Monday condemned President Donald Trump after he launched a verbal attack on Minnesota’s Somali community and claimed, without evidence, that he would end immigration protections for thousands of Somali residents.

Speaking at a community gathering focused on Minnesota’s recent social-services fraud cases — some of which have involved Somali-American defendants accused of misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars intended for needy children, youth with autism and people requiring housing assistance — Omar said an entire community cannot be blamed for the actions of a few individuals.

“No one should defame an entire community over a crime committed by one person,” Omar said.

Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social that he would terminate Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota, alleging — without offering proof — that “Somali gangs” are terrorizing residents in the state.

Addressing nearly 400 Somali TPS holders in Minnesota, Omar said she would do “everything possible” to defend the state’s Somali community from what she called politically motivated attacks.

If TPS were revoked, it would affect only about 0.5% of Minnesota’s Somali population. Roughly 80,000 Somalis live in the state, and an estimated 41,748 were born in Somalia as of 2024. Most Somalis in Minnesota are U.S.-born or naturalized citizens, and many arrived as refugees fleeing the country’s civil war in the 1990s.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday during a visit to Minnesota that her office would review whether to roll back TPS protections for Somali nationals, a process that would require a 60-day notification period, according to The New York Times.

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-Minnesota, said the wave of online attacks that surged after Trump’s comments is part of “a broader, organized campaign to stoke fear of Muslims,” which he said is amplified by pro-Israel political operatives.

GAROWE ONLINE