U.S. President Donald Trump has launched a blistering verbal attack on the Somali community, characterising migrants as "garbage" just as federal authorities prepare a contentious enforcement operation in the Midwestern state of Minnesota.
The inflammatory remarks, delivered during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, signal a dramatic escalation in the administration's renewed hardline approach to immigration and refugee resettlement.
"I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you," Mr Trump told reporters, employing the nativist rhetoric that has become a hallmark of his political brand. He warned that the U.S. would "go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country".
"With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have no, they have no anything. They just run around killing each other. There's no structure," he added.
The President’s comments are consistent with a long-standing hostility toward Somali migration. During his 2016 campaign, Mr Trump specifically targeted Minnesota’s Somali population, stating they had caused "disaster" for the state.
Upon taking office in 2017, Somalia was included in his administration’s controversial "travel ban", which restricted entry for citizens from several Muslim-majority nations.
His latest disparaging comments coincide with reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is finalising plans for a major enforcement operation in Minnesota. The state is home to the largest Somali diaspora in the United States, centred largely in the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis and St Paul.
The timing of the operation has drawn sharp criticism from local officials, who argue it is politically motivated. Minnesota is a Democratic stronghold and the home state of Governor Tim Walz, who ran against Trump on the Democratic ticket in the 2024 election.
Officials in the state have condemned the plan, arguing it could unfairly sweep up American citizens who may appear to be from the East African nation.
"I don't want them in our country. I'll be honest with you, OK. Somebody will say, 'Oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care," Mr Trump said on Tuesday.
The President then turned his ire towards Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat representing a Minneapolis district. Ms Omar, who arrived in the U.S. as a child refugee, became the first Somali-American elected to Congress in 2018 and has frequently clashed with the President.
"I always watch her," Mr Trump said, calling her an "incompetent person" who "hates everybody".
"His obsession with me is creepy," Ms Omar responded on social media. "I hope he gets the help he desperately needs."
The 'Little Mogadishu' Connection
Migration from Somalia to Minnesota began in earnest in the early 1990s, facilitated by Lutheran social services agencies and a robust job market. Today, the Cedar-Riverside neighbourhood of Minneapolis is often referred to as "Little Mogadishu".
According to local leaders, there are approximately 80,000 people of Somali descent living in the state, the vast majority of whom are naturalised American citizens or second-generation Americans.
However, a source familiar with the planning told the BBC's U.S. partner CBS News that ICE has been directed to target undocumented Somali immigrants specifically. Hundreds of people are expected to be detained when the operation begins this week.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, denied that individuals would be targeted based on race.
"Every day, ICE enforces the laws of the nation across the country," said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "What makes someone a target of ICE is not their race or ethnicity, but the fact that they are in the country illegally."
The administration has intensified its immigration crackdown following a violent incident last week in Washington DC, where two National Guard members were shot. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, was killed and Andrew Wolfe, 24, was seriously injured.
While the suspect in custody is originally from Afghanistan, the President has used the tragedy to justify a broader sweep affecting various immigrant communities, including Somalis.
Last week, Mr Trump announced plans to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali residents in Minnesota.
TPS is a humanitarian programme that allows migrants from countries destabilised by war or natural disasters to live and work legally in the U.S. Somalia, which has been plagued by decades of civil war and extremist insurgency by Al-Shabaab, has long been designated for TPS.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a staunch Trump loyalist, suggested on Tuesday her agency would also target visa fraud in Minnesota.
Local leaders in Minnesota view the operation as a retaliatory measure against a state that voted against the President.
Minnesota state Senator Zaynab Mohamed wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that "when ICE agents interact with Somalis here, they will find what we've been saying for years: Almost all of us are US citizens".
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has been sparring with the President in recent days, said: "We welcome support in investigating and prosecuting crime. But pulling a PR stunt and indiscriminately targeting immigrants is not a real solution to a problem."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey added that such an operation "means due process will be violated".
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