US President Donald Trump launched a tirade against Somali immigrants and their political representatives during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday (December 2), calling Somalians “garbage” who “contribute nothing.”
Trump attacked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as a “grossly incompetent man” and derided Somalia as a place where people “just run around killing each other” and whose “country stinks.”
Trump also targeted Rep. Ilhan Omar, calling her “garbage,” and accusing her “friends” of “ripping off” Minnesota for “billions of dollars” in welfare.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, responding to a report in the New York Times that upward of 100 federal immigration agents were poised to descend on his city and neighboring St. Paul to target undocumented Somali residents, said regardless of whether raids were coming, the Somali community would be supported in every way possible by local authorities.
Frey, a Democrat, said local police would not work with federal agents on any immigration matters, and he strongly criticised Trump’s recent attacks on the Somali community, including the “garbage” remarks.
The president has increased his attacks on Somalis in the US since last week’s shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, a shooting that killed on of the troops and for which an Afghan national has been charged.
“To villainize an entire group is ridiculous under any circumstances,” Frey said.
Anti-immigration rhetoric was a major part of Trump’s campaign and since taking office in January he has overseen an aggressive campaign by masked federal agents across the country that has instilled fear in immigrant communities and prompted protests and backlashes in the cities targeted.
About 80,000 Somalis live in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities metro region. Frey said the community had been an economic and cultural boon to the area and had been living in the US for several decades. The vast majority of Somalis in the US, Frey said, are American citizens, and he said he’s convinced any immigration action would ensnare people in the country legally.
Trump last month said he was immediately terminating temporary deportation protections for Somalis living in Minnesota, saying “Somali gangs” were terrorizing the state, without offering evidence or details. Local officials said Trump’s portrayal is untrue. In all, 705 Somalis are in the country with TPS status, according to government records.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, the first Black mayor of his Twin City which is also home to many Somalis, said Trump’s attacks on that community were “racist” and “xenophobic.”
Citing the opening words to the preamble of the US Constitution – “We the People” – as the phrase that launched the American experience, Carter said “the sacred moments in American history are the moments we’ve had to decide who the ‘we’ is, who is included.’
“Who (Trump) is attacking aren’t just Somalis – they are Somali-Americans,” Carter said. “Who he attacked is Americans.”
“Who (Trump) is attacking aren’t just Somalis – they are Somali-Americans,” Carter said. “Who he attacked is Americans.”
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