Trump urges Somalis to return to their homeland and improve it, stating he does not want them in the US

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday that he does not want Somali immigrants in the United States, arguing that people from the East African nation rely too heavily on American social support programs and offer little benefit to the country. His sweeping critique of the Somali community marks the latest in a series of pointed attacks on this diaspora.

Somalis have been resettling in Minnesota and other states, often as refugees, since the 1990s. Trump made no distinction between citizens and non-citizens in his remarks. The statement came shortly after his administration announced a halt to all asylum decisions following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington. While the suspect in that incident is Afghan, Trump has used it to raise concerns about immigrants from other countries, including Somalia.

Trump told reporters, They contribute nothing. I dont want them in our country. He added disparagingly, Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks and we dont want them in our country.

For years, Trump has criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who moved from Somalia in 1995 as a child. His attacks on Somalis escalated recently after conservative activist Christopher Rufo published claims in City Journal alleging, without evidence, that stolen funds from Minnesota programs had been diverted to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked group in Somalia. Following that, Trump promised on social media to send Somalis back to where they came from and called Minnesota, home to the largest Somali population in the U.S., a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity.

On Tuesday, the president reiterated that Somalis should go back to where they came from and fix it, and specifically announced plans to end temporary legal protections for Somali residents in Minnesota. This move has alarmed the local Somali community and raised questions about the legal authority of the White House to enforce such a directive. Critics, including state leaders and immigration experts, described the announcement as legally questionable and intended to cast suspicion on Minnesotas Somali population. The policy would affect only a small number of individuals; a congressional report from August noted that only 705 Somalis nationwide hold Temporary Protected Status.

Trump again criticized Omar, whose family fled Somalias civil war and lived in a Kenyan refugee camp before coming to the U.S. He said, We can go one way or the other, and were going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage.

Omar responded on social media, calling Trumps fixation creepy and stating, I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.

Trump also commented on Somali immigrants work ethic, claiming, These aren't people that work. These aren't people that say, Lets go, c'mon. Lets make this place great. These are people that do nothing but complain.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized Trumps statements, calling them wrong. He highlighted the contributions of Somali immigrants, noting that they have started businesses, created jobs, and enriched the citys cultural life. Frey added, To villainize an entire group is ridiculous under any circumstances. And the way that Donald Trump is consistent in doing it calls into question major constitutional violations. It certainly violates the moral fabric of what we stand by in this country as Americans.

Reporting contributions by AP writer Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis.

Author: Sophia Brooks