In recent weeks, the Twin Cities and the wider Minnesota community have been gripped by a wave of anxiety, fear, and solidarity as federal immigration enforcement actions and inflammatory political rhetoric have converged on the state’s sizable Somali population. The tension, palpable in shuttered businesses and unusually quiet streets, has drawn responses from faith leaders, city officials, and residents—each seeking to navigate the uncertainty and keep their communities safe and united.
It all began to escalate in late November and early December 2025, when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a series of high-profile operations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. According to NBC News, these operations coincided with a marked uptick in reports of ICE activity, particularly targeting Somali immigrants, many of whom are long-time residents and U.S. citizens. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the city’s 911 dispatchers had received “a dramatic increase” in calls reporting apparent ICE activities, and that he’d observed more businesses closed and fewer people out on the streets than normal. “It’s making people scared and terrified,” O’Hara told the station, echoing the sentiment felt across the community.
The fear is not limited to those without legal status. As a 21-year-old Minnesota native of Somali descent told NBC News, “Nobody is leaving their homes right now. They don’t even have anything to run for. They’re citizens. They’ve been living here for years.” Shops at Karmel Mall, a bustling hub for Somali businesses in Minneapolis, were shuttered on December 4, with signs in storefronts reading “No ICE.” The anxiety was further amplified by the news that, during a federal raid in St. Paul the previous week, pepper spray and tear gas were deployed against protesters after some in the crowd allegedly threw objects at agents.
Amid these heightened enforcement actions, President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has poured fuel on the fire. At a recent Cabinet meeting, Trump declared, “We are gonna go the wrong way if we keep taking garbage into our country,” a remark widely understood to be directed at Somali immigrants. The backlash was swift and fierce. Local leaders and advocates condemned the president’s words as dehumanizing and dangerous. The Rev. Paul Graham of St. Ansgar’s Lutheran Church, speaking at a multi-faith gathering in Minneapolis, stated, “No human being is garbage, right? No human being is garbage, Mr. President, and shame on you for saying so.”
Imam Mowlid Ali of Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center described the fear rippling through his community, while Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker of Mount Zion Temple warned against scapegoating entire communities for the actions of a few, calling such rhetoric “racist, xenophobic and just wrong.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, present at the event, told the crowd, “What you see is a visual representation of ‘we have your back.’” Organizers with Isaiah Minnesota, the group behind the interfaith event, voiced concern that Trump’s comments could spur more mosque vandalism, break-ins, and violence against Somali Americans.
In Moorhead, a city on Minnesota’s western edge, the response was just as resolute. On December 4, Mayor Shelly Carlson and Police Chief Chris Helmick held a news conference alongside members of the Human Rights Commission and local Somali leaders. “They are our friends and our family,” Carlson said of Somali residents. “They help shape our culture, our economy and the future of Moorhead every single day.” Chief Helmick emphasized that Moorhead police would not participate in federal immigration enforcement, seeking to reassure Somali residents that “we are not out targeting them and they should not fear us. That is not our job. Our job is to focus on state and local criminal law.”
The federal government, for its part, has defended the operations. In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security announced that officers had arrested “some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens, including child sex offenders, domestic abusers, and violent gang members” in what it dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Of the 12 individuals highlighted in the DHS release, five were from Somalia, with others from El Salvador and Mexico. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin insisted that “people who are not here illegally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear. Elected officials choosing to fearmonger by distorting reality are doing a great disservice to our country.” She added, “Removing dangerous criminals from our streets makes it safer for everyone—including business owners and their customers.”
Yet the sense of siege is hard to dispel. Minneapolis City Council member Jamal Osman, himself born in Somalia, urged his constituents “to carry their passport around.” He lamented, “I’m telling them to carry documents like we live in 1930s, 1940s in Germany. This is sadly what we are seeing in America.” Chief O’Hara, meanwhile, continued to urge residents to call 911 if they were unsure whether masked individuals claiming to be law enforcement were legitimate, citing FBI warnings about impersonators. “We need to let the community know if somebody or some people show up that are armed, that are claiming to be in law enforcement, but you don’t see any badges or you’re not sure who’s there, you don’t see police cars, and they’re trying to get you to open the door to their house, absolutely, people should call 911,” O’Hara told NBC News.
Community leaders have also been quick to stress the contributions and legitimacy of Somali Americans in Minnesota. Imam Hassan Jama, executive director of the Islamic Association of North America, told NBC News, “The mistakes of a few individuals can never be used to generalize or stereotype an entire community. The majority of Somali Americans in Minnesota are hardworking, reasonable and deeply committed to contributing to the prosperity of our state and our country.”
The numbers back him up. Census data show that there are more than 98,000 Somali immigrants in the United States, with about 83% naturalized as U.S. citizens. In Minnesota alone, most of the 80,000 people of Somali ancestry are citizens or legal permanent residents. Since 1993, the state has welcomed thousands of Somali refugees fleeing war and instability in East Africa. In just the last five years, according to the State Department, the U.S. has admitted about 9,000 Somali refugees, many of whom have since become eligible for green cards and citizenship.
Still, the legal landscape has grown more restrictive. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently paused all immigration requests from 19 countries, including Somalia, deemed “high risk” by the Trump administration, and launched a “reexamination of every Green Card” granted to people from those countries. Such measures, coupled with the president’s rhetoric and the visible presence of federal agents, have left many feeling, as Osman put it, “hunted.”
As the community grapples with these challenges, leaders from all walks of life—faith, law enforcement, government—have called for calm, compassion, and vigilance. Chief O’Hara summed it up: “Just because ICE is here doesn’t mean that we’re not the police for Minneapolis, we still have to be the police, so if there’s threats of violence, if there’s actual violence, if there’s property damage, those are things we must respond to. Please keep things peaceful.”
In a time of uncertainty, Minnesota’s Somali community and its allies are standing firm, determined not to let fear or division define their future.
