On October 12th, federal Immigration Enforcement Officials searched and raided the Washington, DC, home of Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar (MN-05), escalating attacks on Somalian Americans and immigrants. Omar arrived in the US in 1995 after fleeing Somalia’s civil war with her family and became a US citizen through derivative citizenship in 2000 after her father obtained citizenship. Since then, Omar has been a US citizen for the vast majority of her life, over 25 years.
Given her clear citizenship, this raid represents yet another racially motivated attack on Somalis.
In recent years, Trump has referred to Somalia as a “non-country” and claimed Somalians who have “ripped off that state for billions of dollars” are “filthy, dirty, disgusting” and “contribute nothing” to the country. Additionally, he’s stated, “The once Great State of Minnesota is being taken over by Somali Immigrants” and that “The people of Minnesota must fight back,” as he doesn’t “want them in our country.” These claims are dangerous, but they are just the beginning of the mistreatment the current administration inflicts on Somali communities.
The search also comes amid a broader immigration crackdown targeting Somali communities in Minnesota. During Trump’s Operation Metro Surge, federal immigration agents arrested approximately 106 Somalis. However, as the majority of Somalis in Minnesota are citizens, this effort was somewhat unsuccessful, as Somali arrests only represented 3% of Operation Metro Surge’s total arrests. Almost 58% of Somalis in the greater Minneapolis region are US born citizens and 87% of foreign-born Somalis are naturalized citizens.
In light of this, Trump then followed these raids with revoking Temporary Protected Status for Somalis and other minority groups. Following this, over 1,000 Somalian asylum seekers have been ordered to be deported and approximately 1.3 million individuals across nationalities have been impacted. This administration has left immigrants with little to no options when attempting to legally navigate the US immigration system.
During immigration proceedings, Somalis have been reported to be held in detention outside of the US. Reports share that 12 Somalian deportees are being held in detention in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, of those men, three reportedly have pending asylum cases and work permits. Their cases raise questions about access to legal protections during immigration proceedings and the treatment of people facing removal from the United States.
However, the administration’s policies toward Somali people expands beyond immigrant enforcement. The US government has been at war with Somalia for almost a quarter-century in a claimed effort to target terrorist groups. Since Trump stepped into power, the war has intensified and attacks have surpassed previous years significantly. Under Bush and Obama’s leadership, 59 airstrikes were conducted and under Biden, 51 strikes were carried out. Trump’s numbers nearly quadrupled these, with over 400 attacks. Militant leaders accounted for approximately 1.7% of those killed in the attacks, raising questions about the impact of U.S. military operations on Somali civilians.
The raid deployed on Rep. Omar’s home was a direct attack on Somalis and reflective of the US’s historical and current abuse towards Somalis and minority groups. The Trump administration is not only conducting immigration raids, but attempting to create a system of stripping citizenship from anyone who does not fit in their guidelines of “American.”
Minnesota State Sen. Zaynab Mohamed condemned the treatment saying “This is what happens in a dictatorship. The leader identifies his political, ethnic and religious enemies, and his agents scramble to do his bidding and make him happy.”