MINNEAPOLIS — Many in Minnesota's Somali community — even those who are citizens — say they are fearful after Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched an operation in the region and after President Donald Trump'srants against Somaliaand Somaliimmigrantsliving in the United States.
"Nobody is leaving their homes right now," a 21-year-old Minnesota native of Somali descent, who asked to not be named for fear of harassment,told NBC News. "They don't even have anything to run for. They're citizens. They've been living here for years."
Many of the shops at Karmel Mall — a hub of Somali businesses, merchants and restaurants in Minneapolis — were closed Thursday, and the normally busy mall was quieter than usual. Some establishments had signs that read "No ICE."
While a senior law enforcement official previously saidICE officers are not specifically targeting Somali immigrants, the operation in Minneapolis coincided with Trump's saying Wednesday that Somalis have"destroyed Minnesota" and "our country."Trump spokefollowing news reportsthat dozens of people of Somali descent have been convicted in fraud schemes related to Covid relief that netted over $1 billion.
"The mistakes of a few individuals can never be used to generalize or stereotype an entire community," Imam Hassan Jama, executive director of the Islamic Association of North America, said Thursday. He added that the majority "of Somali Americans in Minnesota are hardworking, reasonable and deeply committed to contributing to the prosperity of our state and our country."
Trump has also directed comments at Rep.Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who fled the civil war in Somalia with her family and lived in a Kenyan refugee camp before she moved to the United States and became a citizen. Trump called her "garbage" and "a real terrible person" duringa tirade about Somalis on Tuesday.
Omar, a progressive Democrat whom Trump hasmocked and targetedfor years,responded Tuesday on X: "His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs."
There are more than98,000 Somali immigrants in the United States, and about 83% are naturalized U.S. citizens, according to census data. In Minnesota, most of the 80,000 people of Somali ancestry are U.S. citizens. Nearly 6 in 10 were born in this country or are legal permanent residents.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said in an interview that ICE arrests had been rising in the Minneapolis area for the last month, with officers predominantly targeting the Latino community.
"What changed this week was it was the first time people from the community reaching out over the Thanksgiving weekend to say that Somalis were being targeted," he said.
O'Hara sparked conservative backlash at a news conference Tuesday, telling residents to call 911 if they're unsure whether the masked strangers forcing residents into unmarked vehicles are law enforcement officers. Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, called the message "shameful."
O'Hara reiterated the message in an interview Thursday, saying the FBI urged law enforcement agencies this year to be on the alert for criminals impersonating ICE agents.
"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 said.
Jamal Osman, a Minneapolis City Council member who was born in Somalia, urged his constituents "to carry their passport around."
"I'm telling them to carry documents like we live in 1930s, 1940s in Germany. This is sadly what we are seeing in America," Osman told NBC News.
Residents and community leaders in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area say they have spotted immigration agents in their neighborhoods andgotten anecdotal reports about Somalis' being detainedthis week after a senior law enforcement official confirmed the immigration operation in Minneapolis was underway.
In a news release Thursday, 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." The release included photos and brief descriptions of 12 people arrested during what DHS dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Five of those listed were from Somalia, according to the release. One was from EL Salvador, and the rest were from Mexico.
Asked about Osman's comments recommending that Somali Americans carry their U.S. passports, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said 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."
"Removing dangerous criminals from our streets makes it safer for everyone — including business owners and their customers," she said.
Decades of refugee resettlements and growing American-born families have turned Minnesota into the home of thecountry's largest Somali population. Since 1993, thousands of Somali immigrants have fled war and instability in the East African country.
According to the State Department, in the last five years, the United States has admittedabout 9,000 Somali refugees, many of whom later became eligible to apply for green cards and eventually for citizenship.
"There are a lot of people who have come to this country to flee persecution, war," Zakaria Abukar, a Somalia-born tech entrepreneur in Minnesota,told NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis.
Abukar settled in Rochester, Minnesota, nearly three decades ago, when he was 6 years old. "Many of us have gone through the legal channels," he said.
Those legal channels have narrowed for Somalis. Most recently, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services paused all immigration requests for applicants from19 countriesthe Trump administration deemed "high risk" in June, including Somalia, and launched a "reexamination of every Green Card" granted to people from those countries of concern.
"We feel hunted," Osman said. "That is unacceptable."
Nicole Acevedo reported from New York and Maggie Vespa and Kailani Koenig from Minneapolis.
