Posted by The US president has fixated on the large Somali community in Minnesota in recent weeks, making disparaging remarks.
By Al Jazeera Staff and News Agencies
Published On 3 Dec 20253 Dec 2025
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US President Donald Trump launched a verbal attack on Somali immigrants on Tuesday, as federal authorities prepared to launch a major immigration crackdown targeting hundreds of undocumented Somalis in the state of Minnesota.
In a long rant to reporters, Trump said he did not want Somali immigrants in the United States, claiming that residents of the East African country “contributed nothing” to the US while relying on aid. Trump did not provide any evidence to support these claims.
This was just the latest in a string of disparaging verbal attacks the US president has launched at the country’s Somali community. He posted similar remarks on social media last week and during his first term as president. Trump has also repeatedly verbally targeted Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is a US citizen of Somali descent.
The president has appeared to focus on immigrants from developing countries with harsh remarks or policies, except for white South Africans, for whom the US has increased quotas.
The US has paused immigration from 19 countries deemed “high risk”, citing last week’s fatal shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national. At the end of October, the Trump administration reduced the number of refugees the US will accept next year to just 7,500 – the lowest number since the 1980 Refugee Act – with preference to be given to white South Africans.
Then, on Tuesday, US media reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would carry out an operation in Somali neighbourhoods in the next few days.
Much of the Somali diaspora has settled in the US within the past 50 years. Here’s what we know about why Trump is targeting the community now.
What did Trump say?
Speaking to reporters following a US Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he didn’t want Somalis in the US, describing them as “garbage”.
“We could 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.
“They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” Trump told reporters without specifying whether he was referring to citizens or irregular migrants.
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“Some people will say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care … Their country is no good for a reason … Your country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country,” he said.
“These are people who do nothing but complain,” Trump continued. “They complain, and from where they came from, they got nothing … When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.”
Last week, in an address to the nation following the shooting of two National Guard members, which left one dead and another critically injured, Trump ordered that people from 19 blacklisted countries who held US green or permanent residency cards be “re-examined”.
He then pivoted to the Somali community in Minnesota in that address, saying, “Hundreds of thousands of Somalians are ripping off our country and ripping apart that once great state.”
What action is the Trump administration planning against the Somali community?
US media reported on Tuesday that an ICE operation focused on Somali communities in the Minneapolis-St Paul area will take place in the next few days.
A sweep by ICE officers will round up undocumented people for deportation, AP reported, citing a person familiar with the plans.
At least 100 ICE agents are expected to flood the area. The New York Times, also citing sources close to the plan, said Somalis in the process of seeking legal status could also be swept up.
Several states in recent months have experienced ICE raids on undocumented people, including Chicago, Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City and Phoenix. By October, at least 527,000 people had been deported from the US since the Trump administration took office in January, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz slammed the plan for Minneapolis, saying that while the state welcomed support for prosecuting crime, “pulling a PR stunt and indiscriminately targeting immigrants is not a real solution to a problem”.
City officials also condemned President Trump’s attack on the Somali community at a press conference on Tuesday and promised not to cooperate with ICE agents conducting migrant checks.
“Obviously, this is a frightening moment for our Somali community,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, describing the possible move as “terrorising”.
“That’s not American. That’s not what we are about,” he said. “To our Somali community, we love you, and we stand with you.”
Minneapolis City Council Member Jamal Osman, who came to the US from Somalia when he was 14, said at the conference: “I know many families are fearful … the city of Minneapolis stands behind you.”
“Somali Americans are here to stay,” he added. “We love this state. We love this country. This is home. We’re not going anywhere.”
Who Watches the Watchers? 