By Harshit
WASHINGTON — DECEMBER 3, 2025, 8:16 AM EDT
US President Donald Trump intensified his hardline immigration stance on Tuesday, declaring he does not want Somali immigrants in the United States and urging them to “go back to where they came from,” a remark that triggered swift backlash from Minnesota officials and Somali-American leaders.
During the closing minutes of a lengthy, televised cabinet meeting, Trump launched into a fresh attack on the Somali community, claiming their country is “barely a country” and asserting that allowing Somali migrants into the US amounts to “taking in garbage.”
“I don’t want them in our country,” Trump told reporters. “I’ll be honest with you, OK. Somebody will say, ‘Oh, that’s not politically correct.’ I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason.”
The comments marked the sharpest escalation yet in the president’s recent rhetoric targeting the Somali diaspora in Minnesota — home to the largest Somali population in the United States and one of the largest globally outside East Africa. Minneapolis and St. Paul together host some 80,000 people of Somali origin, the vast majority of them US citizens.
ICE Operation in Minnesota Sparks Fears of Sweeping Detentions
The remarks came just hours after reports emerged that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been directed to carry out a targeted enforcement operation in the Twin Cities focused on undocumented Somali immigrants.
According to officials who spoke to CBS News, hundreds of people may be swept up when the operation begins this week. The New York Times first reported the planned action.
Minnesota leaders condemned the move, warning it could result in US citizens being unjustly questioned or detained because of their ethnicity.
“An operation by ICE means due process will be violated,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said. “This is not how you keep communities safe.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who has clashed repeatedly with the Trump administration on immigration policy, called the plan a “PR stunt” that risks indiscriminate targeting.
“We welcome support in investigating and prosecuting crime,” Walz said. “But pulling a PR stunt and indiscriminately targeting immigrants is not a real solution to a problem.”
The Department of Homeland Security denied that any operations would target people based on race, insisting the focus is strictly on immigration status.
“What makes someone a target of ICE is not their race or ethnicity, but the fact that they are in the country illegally,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
Trump Renews Attacks on Ilhan Omar
Trump also used the moment to launch personal attacks against Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Somali-American congresswoman from Minnesota, who has long been a target of his criticism.
“I always watch her,” Trump said. “She hates everybody. And I think she’s an incompetent person.”
Omar responded on social media: “His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.”
Expanding the Crackdown After DC Shooting
Trump’s comments come shortly after the administration halted all asylum decisions and ordered a review of green cards previously issued to migrants from 19 countries — including Somalia.
The White House has expanded its broader immigration crackdown following last week’s fatal shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, an attack authorities say was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the US in 2021 under a program supporting Afghans who assisted US forces.
Though Trump did not reference the DC shooting while discussing Somalis, his administration has tied the incident to new immigration restrictions — including a threat to “permanently pause migration” from what he calls “third world countries.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said this week she would push for additional travel bans targeting countries she claimed were “flooding” the US with criminal activity. The Treasury Department separately announced an investigation into allegations — based on unverified US media reports — that Minnesota state funds may have been diverted to Somalia’s al-Shabaab militant group.
Somalia Pushes Back
Somalia’s government responded carefully but firmly to Trump’s escalating rhetoric.
“It has become too easy for some to use Somalia as a scapegoat or distraction from their own failures,” Foreign Minister Ali Omar posted on X, without naming the US president.
Community Leaders: “Most of Us Are US Citizens”
Local Somali-American leaders said the administration’s claims misrepresent their community and risk stoking fear.
“When ICE agents interact with Somalis here, they will find what we’ve been saying for years: Almost all of us are US citizens,” Minnesota state Senator Zaynab Mohamed said.
TPS — temporary protected status — for Somali nationals has existed since 1991 due to the country’s decades-long civil conflict. Last month, Trump said he intended to revoke TPS protections for Somali residents in Minnesota, affecting several hundred people.
Community organizations warned that the political climate is becoming increasingly dangerous.
“Words like these from a president have consequences,” one Somali community advocate told local reporters. “People are afraid.”