Federal immigration authorities have been ordered to increase enforcement actions targeting undocumented Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, a person familiar with the planning confirmed.
A U.S. official said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans a surge of resources in the Twin Cities to carry out operations aimed at people with deportation orders. The Minneapolis–St. Paul region hosts the largest Somali population in the United States, and some community members have outstanding removal orders. The enhanced operations are expected to begin this week, the official said; the New York Times first reported the plans. Hundreds of people are expected to be targeted, the person familiar with planning added. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to discuss “future or potential operations.”
President Donald Trump renewed sharp criticism of Minnesota’s Somali community amid reports of the operation. “They contribute nothing … I don’t want them in our country,” the president told reporters. In a separate Thanksgiving social-media post he used a derogatory slur about Gov. Tim Walz and wrote that Somali refugees were “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.” Trump has also ordered reviews of green card holders from Somalia and more than a dozen other countries and announced plans to end temporary protected status for Somalis in Minnesota, asserting without cited evidence that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state.” Those moves would affect hundreds of people, officials have said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced his department is probing whether Minnesota tax dollars ended up in al Shabaab, the Somalia-based extremist group designated by the U.S. government.
Local leaders in Minneapolis and St. Paul voiced solidarity with the Somali community and warned of legal and social harms from federal enforcement. At a joint news conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the community “rock solid” and said Somalis have contributed to the city’s culture and economy. Frey warned that targeted enforcement “means due process will be violated” and said mistaken detentions and the detention of U.S. citizens because they appear Somali are risks.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter called the planned actions “un-American,” saying the nation has long been proud of welcoming newcomers and cautioning that federal operations risk sowing chaos and division. Council Member Jamal Osman, who was born in Somalia, described the president’s rhetoric as “racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic” and urged community resistance to efforts to divide residents.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara reiterated that local officers will not cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. “We don’t provide information to federal immigration authorities. We don’t ask people about their immigration status,” he said, adding that the department will issue further guidance on its immigration policy.
Members of Minnesota’s Somali community say recent rhetoric and reports of enforcement have raised fear and uncertainty. Some residents reported seeing people they believed to be federal agents near a busy Somali shopping area, though authorities have not confirmed such activity. Gov. Tim Walz characterized the reported ICE operation as “a PR stunt,” saying indiscriminate targeting of immigrants is not a solution to crime.
Minnesota is home to roughly 80,000 people of Somali origin, according to Minnesota Compass. Community advocates say many Somalis fled decades of civil war and resettled in Minnesota because of resettlement programs, jobs, schools and health care. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said his group has heard of “less than a dozen” recent immigration arrests in the local Somali community and estimated that about 95% of Somalis in Minnesota are U.S. citizens, with roughly half born in the United States.
Scholars trace Somali migration to Minnesota largely to the fallout from Somalia’s 1991 civil war. The Minnesota Department of Human Services reports that 13,582 Somali refugees arrived in the state between 2005 and 2018. Local leaders and advocates urged residents to consult immigrant and refugee-serving organizations to understand their rights and to prepare for any enforcement activity.
The situation remains fluid as federal officials finalize details of the operation and local leaders coordinate responses to protect due process and community safety.