President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he did not want Somali immigrants in the United States, claiming they rely too heavily on U.S. social programs and “contribute nothing.” Near the end of a long Cabinet meeting, he told Somalis living in the U.S. to “go back to where they came from and fix it,” and added, “Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks and we don’t want them in our country.”
His remarks, which did not distinguish between citizens and noncitizens, are the latest in a sustained campaign by Trump against the Somali diaspora, which has settled in Minnesota and other states often as refugees since the 1990s. They followed the administration’s announcement of a pause on all asylum decisions after a shooting that wounded two National Guard soldiers in Washington; the suspect in that case is originally from Afghanistan. The president used the episode to single out immigrants from several countries, including Somalia.
The comments also came after conservative activist Christopher Rufo published allegations in City Journal — based on unnamed sources — that funds stolen from Minnesota programs had been funneled to al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-linked militant group active in parts of Somalia. Those claims have not been substantiated. After the article, Trump posted on social media that he would send Somalis “back to where they came from” and characterized Minnesota, which has the largest Somali community in the U.S., as “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.”
On Tuesday he said he would end temporary legal protections for Somalis living in Minnesota, a move that has alarmed immigrant communities in the state and raised questions from legal experts about whether the White House can carry out such directives as described. The change would affect a small number of people: a congressional report in August estimated just 705 Somalis nationwide were covered by Temporary Protected Status.
Trump also renewed attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who emigrated from Somalia in 1995 after her family spent years in a Kenyan refugee camp. “We can go one way or the other, and we’re going to go the wrong way, if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” he said. “Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage.” Omar responded on social media, writing: “His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.”
The president further characterized Somali immigrants as largely not working and complaining rather than contributing to the country. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back, calling the president’s assertions “wrong,” and noting Somali residents have launched businesses, created jobs and added to the city’s cultural life. Frey said vilifying an entire group is “ridiculous under any circumstances” and expressed concerns about potential constitutional and moral issues in the administration’s treatment of Minnesota’s Somali community.