Tempers flared in Washington and Minnesota this week after President Donald Trump launched a barrage of incendiary remarks at Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and the Somali community she represents, sparking widespread condemnation and raising concerns about the safety and rights of immigrants in the United States.
During a cabinet meeting on December 2, 2025, Trump openly disparaged Somali refugees, particularly those residing in Minnesota, which is home to the largest Somali population in the country. According to The New York Times and The Associated Press, Trump declared, "If we continue to let garbage into our country, we will go down the wrong path. Ilhan Omar is garbage. Her friends are garbage too." He continued, "Their country stinks and we don’t want them in our country." The president did not stop there, adding, “These aren’t people that work. These aren’t people that say, ‘Let’s go. Come on, let’s make this place great.’ These are people that do nothing but complain. They complain.”
Trump’s comments, which many have described as racist, bigoted, and xenophobic, were not limited to the cabinet meeting. The following day, during a press conference in the Oval Office, he doubled down, accusing Somalis of taking "billions and billions of dollars" from the United States and repeating a conspiracy theory about Representative Omar, asserting, "She tries to deny it now, but you can't really deny it because, you know, it just happened. And she shouldn't be allowed to be a congresswoman. And I'm sure people are looking at that. And she should be thrown the hell out of our country." (City Journal, BizPac Review).
Omar, the first Somali-American woman to serve in the U.S. Congress, was quick to respond via social media. "His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on December 2, 2025. She further described Trump as "always racist, bigoted, xenophobic, and Islamophobic," and added, "His obsession with me and the Somali community really is creepy and unhealthy." Omar, who fled Somalia's civil war and spent four years in a Kenyan refugee camp before being granted asylum in the U.S. in 1995, has long been a target of Trump's ire. The president has previously labeled her "a very incompetent and terrible person," while simultaneously claiming not to know her.
But the fallout from Trump’s remarks extended far beyond social media exchanges. Within hours of the cabinet meeting, news broke that federal immigration agents were preparing to launch an enforcement operation targeting Somali nationals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. According to The Associated Press and The New York Times, the operation would focus on arresting Somalis with final deportation orders as well as those seeking court authorization to remain in the country. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that as of 2024, 41,748 foreign-born Somalis call Minnesota home, making it the state with the largest Somali diaspora in the nation.
The timing and targeting of the enforcement action drew sharp criticism from local officials. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara held a joint press conference on December 3, 2025, to condemn both Trump’s comments and the planned immigration sweep. Frey announced that as many as 100 federal agents would be deployed to the Twin Cities, but insisted that local police would not collaborate with federal officers in immigration enforcement. "Targeting Somali people means that due process will be violated," Frey said. "Mistakes will be made and let’s be clear, it means that American citizens will be detained for no other reason than the fact that they look like they are Somali." O’Hara added, "The fear that the community has been experiencing — immigrant communities have been experiencing — in this city is real." He described how immigrants are now afraid to attend church, shop at small businesses, or even call the police for help, warning that such fear undermines the safety of the entire city.
The Trump administration’s actions have not stopped at immigration enforcement. The Treasury Department, led by Secretary Scott Bessent, announced an investigation into Minnesota’s welfare programs after Trump alleged the state was a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity." The probe centers on claims that state tax dollars were being funneled to al-Shabaab, a militant group in Somalia—a charge first published in the conservative City Journal. State officials and community advocates have pushed back against these allegations, warning that they risk stoking anti-Somali sentiment and further endangering an already vulnerable population.
Trump’s rhetoric has a long history of targeting immigrants and people of color. In previous years, he referred to African nations as “s---hole countries” and, in 2023, claimed that migrants were “poisoning the blood of our country,” as reported by NBC News. His latest tirade against Somali immigrants is seen by many as a continuation of this pattern. The president has also repeatedly accused Omar of entering the country illegally and marrying her brother, a conspiracy theory that has been widely debunked but continues to circulate in right-wing circles.
Community leaders and elected officials across Minnesota have rallied in support of the Somali community. Mayor Frey, in a post on social media, declared, “Minneapolis is proud to be home to the largest Somali community in the country. They are our neighbors, our friends, and our family — and they are welcome in our city. Nothing Donald Trump does will ever change that.” Governor Tim Walz also responded to Trump’s attacks, writing, “Release the MRI results,” after the president used an offensive slur against him. Omar, for her part, reassured her constituents: “To our Somali communities here in Minnesota and across the country: we see you and we stand with you. None of Trump's lawless threats will ever change that you make our state and country great.”
The situation has left many Somali-Americans feeling anxious and uncertain about their future in the United States. The Department of State’s travel advisory for Somalia, issued in May, warns against travel due to terrorism and violent crime, underscoring the dangers many refugees face if deported. Meanwhile, the debate over Temporary Protected Status for Somalis remains unresolved, leaving thousands in legal limbo.
As the dust settles from a week of heated rhetoric and policy maneuvers, the Somali community in Minnesota remains resilient, buoyed by the support of local leaders and neighbors. Yet, the episode serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by immigrant communities in America’s volatile political climate, where words from the highest office can have far-reaching and deeply personal consequences.
