A Somali American residing in Minnesota, who previously supported President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, strongly criticized the president’s recent xenophobic remarks directed towards his community as federal authorities prepare to initiate a targeted immigration enforcement operation in the state.
“I have been a Republican for more than 25 years. I will not abandon my Republican values, even though we are now being labeled as ‘garbage’,” stated Mohamed Ahmed in an interview with CNN’s Whitney Wild.
The president has been engaging in a renewed anti-immigrant rhetoric this week, particularly targeting the Somali community. He launched verbal attacks against Somalians on consecutive days following his administration’s suspension of all asylum decisions in response to the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C.
“Look at how chaotic their nation is. It’s not even a functional nation. It’s just people engaging in violence,” Trump stated during a press conference at the Oval Office on Wednesday. “These Somalians have drained billions of dollars from our country. They have caused destruction in Minnesota.”
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Despite the suspect in the shooting being from Afghanistan, Trump’s verbal onslaught against immigrants, particularly those from Somalia, intensified. He remarked, “they contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country.”
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali American population in the U.S., with approximately 84,000 residents in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, as reported by PBS News. Abdikadir Bashir, the executive director of the Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization (CAIRO), expressed that the recent surge in federal law enforcement activities has instilled fear within the community.
“We have a choice to make, and if we continue to allow negativity into our country, we will head in the wrong direction,” Trump remarked during a targeted attack against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia.
