The Associated Press published on 18 January 2026 an article titled "Somali Businesses Struggle during the Minneapolis ICE Crackdown" by Sarah Raza.
Minneapolis/St. Paul has the largest concentration of Somali Americans in the United States. The crackdown on immigrants in the Twin Cities has forced many Somali businesses to shut down.
The Associated Press published on 7 January 2026 an article titled "US Suspends Assistance to Somalia's Federal Government, Alleging It Seized Food Aid" by Matthew Lee.
The US State Department has suspended all assistance to Somalia's federal government over allegations that Somali officials destroyed an American-funded warehouse belonging to the World Food Program and seized 76 metric tons of food aid intended for the civilian population.
The Wall Street Journal published on 4 December 2025 an article titled "A Sprawling Fraud Scandal Puts Minnesota's Somali Community in the Spotlight" by Scott Calvert and Jeanne Whalen.
About 80,000 people of Somali descent live in Minnesota. About 60 persons have been convicted of massive fraud from child nutrition, housing, and autism service programs funded by taxpayers. President Trump has used the situation to refer to the Somali community in Minnesota as "garbage" and urged them to return to Somalia.
Comment: This episode is clearly a major blot on the reputation of the Somali community in Minnesota. But the answer is to prosecute to the full extent of the law all of those persons who are guilty and not to vilify the entire Somali community.
The Washington Post published on 4 December 2025 an article titled "Minnesota, Known for a Warm Welcome, Turns Icy for Somali Immigrants" by Caroline O'Donovan and Emmanuel Felton.
A combination of disparaging remarks by President Trump about the Somali community in Minnesota and recent raids in the Twin Cities by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have instilled a sense of fear among Somali Americans.
The New York Times published on 4 December 2025 an opinion piece titled "Ilhan Omar: Trump Knows He's Failing. Cue the Bigotry."
Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minneapolis, responded to President Trump's vilification of her personally and the Minnesota Somali community generally. She described Trump's remarks as "hate speech" and contributing to xenophobia.
Reuters published on 4 December 2025 an article titled "Trump 'Garbage' Rhetoric about Somalis Draws Cheers from Administration, Silence from Republicans and Alarm from Critics" by Bianca Flowers, James Oliphant, David Hood-Nuno, and Joseph Ax.
About 76,000 people of Somali descent live in Minnesota. More than half of them were born in the United States. President Trump and members of his administration have begun describing the Somali community in derogatory language.
Comment: Any resident of the United States, Somali or otherwise, should be prosecuted for proven criminal acts. But debasing an entire ethnic community for the actions of a few bad actors is not the America that I know and love.
The New York Times published on 3 December 2025 an article titled "Obstacles to Trump's Push to Deport Minnesota Somalis: Reality and the Cold" by Ernesto Londono and Talya Minsberg.
President Trump called Somalis in Minnesota "garbage" and vowed to deport them. But there is a problem. The vast majority of Somalis have legal status in the United States and very few are legally candidates for deportation. Trump has, however, created an atmosphere of xenophobia in the Twin Cities area.
The Wall Street Journal published on 2 December 2025 an article titled "Trump Says He Doesn't Want Somali Immigrants in U.S. as ICE Plans Operation" by Michelle Hackman, Natalie Andrews, and Jack Morphet.
President Trump said he does not want immigrants from Somalia in the country ahead of an expected ICE operation in Minnesota, where the Somali American community is concentrated. Last month, Trump said he would revoke Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota.
He referred to Somali American elected member of Congress, Ilhan Omar, as "garbage." Omar responded that "his obsession with me is creepy" and "I hope he gets the help he desperately needs."
The Washington Post published on 22 November 2025 an article titled "Trump Says He Will Cancel Temporary Protected Status of Somalis in Minnesota" by Frances Vinall.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said, without evidence and without providing further explanation, that "Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing." As a result, he was terminating effective immediately temporary protected status (TPS) for Somali immigrants living in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Attorney General pointed out that you cannot terminate TPS for just one state. There are more than 75,000 persons with Somali heritage living in Minnesota. Few of them reside there with TPS; the vast majority are US citizens. According to the Library of Congress, nationwide there were only 705 Somalis with TPS as of August.
The CTC Sentinel published in its July 2025 edition an analysis titled "The Escalation of U.S. Airstrikes in Somalia and the Role of Perceived Threats to the U.S. Homeland" by David Sterman.
In 2025, the United States significantly increased the pace of airstrikes against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab in Somalia. The rationale was a perceived heightened threat of jihadi activity in the homeland by one or both of these groups.
The Washington Post published on 14 November 2022 an article titled "Muslim Americans Make Historic Gains in Midterm Elections" by Alejandra Molina.
More than 80 Muslim candidates for elective office won local, state, federal and judicial seats in over 20 states in the recent mid-term elections. A rising number were Somali-Americans in states such as Minnesota, Ohio, and Maine.
