Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is speaking out against what she describes as misplaced scrutiny of the Somali community in Minneapolis, emphasizing that most members are U.S. citizens.
According to Fox News, her comments come amid reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning a targeted operation in the Twin Cities.
Omar addressed the issue on the “Native Land Pod” podcast, noting that Somali immigrants in her district largely entered the U.S. as refugees.
“We don’t really have a lot of people who are undocumented,” she said. “A majority of us came to the United States with a refugee status, which means you come in with documentation, and it means that we get our green card within a year, and within five years, we are citizens.”
She said ICE agents attempting to find undocumented individuals are often met with law-abiding residents showing proof of citizenship.
“[ICE agents] are being met with people who are showing them that they are citizens, and they’re having a really hard time and making fools of themselves trying to find a noncitizen or somebody who is undocumented in our community because that is like a needle in a haystack,” Omar said.
The heightened attention comes after reports of fraud schemes involving Somali-led businesses in Minnesota.
On Tuesday, the Small Business Administration announced its investigation into several Somali groups tied to an alleged COVID-19 relief fraud network.
Omar explained the context on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, citing the speed and complexity of pandemic-era programs.
“I think what happened, um, is that, you know, when you have these, kind of new programs that are, um, designed to help people, you’re oftentimes relying on third parties to be able to facilitate,” she said. “And I just think that a lot of the COVID programs that were set up — they were set up so quickly that a lot of the guardrails did not get created.”
Omar also addressed President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on her and the Somali-American community. In a guest essay for The New York Times, she described his rhetoric as rooted in bigotry, saying his focus on her was “creepy” and reflective of policy failures.
“The president’s dehumanizing and dangerous attacks on minority immigrant communities are nothing new,” she wrote.
As ICE prepares its enforcement plans, Omar insists the Somali community in Minneapolis is largely documented and law-abiding, pushing back against what she sees as unfair targeting.
