In a harsh escalation of anti-immigrant rhetoric, US President Donald Trump this week branded Somali immigrants as “garbage,” declaring he doesn’t want them in the country. His remarks came as credible reports emerged of a major immigration enforcement operation targeting Somalis in the state of Minnesota, home to the largest Somali diaspora in the United States.

The move threatens to upend the lives of thousands, many of whom first found refuge in Kenya before resettling in the US. For countless Kenyan families, this is not a distant headline but a deeply personal crisis, potentially severing family ties and vital economic lifelines sustained by remittances.

Deportation 'Strike Teams' Assembled

According to The New York Times and other media outlets, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is deploying special “strike teams” to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The operation, involving approximately 100 agents from across the country, will reportedly focus on undocumented Somalis with final deportation orders. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey acknowledged the reports as “credible” and expressed solidarity with the city's Somali residents, warning that such indiscriminate targeting could lead to the wrongful detention of American citizens.

During a cabinet meeting, Trump unleashed a xenophobic tirade, claiming Somalis “contribute nothing” and should “go back to where they came from and fix it.” He specifically attacked Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a US citizen who came to America as a refugee from Somalia after spending part of her childhood in a camp in Kenya, calling her “garbage.”

Fraud Allegations Fueling the Fire

The administration has justified its focus on the community by pointing to several high-profile fraud cases involving dozens of Somali residents in Minnesota. Prosecutors have alleged schemes to defraud state-funded welfare programs for meals, medical care, and housing. Seizing on this, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an investigation into whether any of these defrauded funds were diverted to the terrorist group Al-Shabaab. These allegations, amplified by right-wing media, have circulated for years but remain unproven by federal prosecutors, who have not filed terrorism-financing charges in these fraud cases.

The context for this crackdown includes several recent policy shifts by the Trump administration:

• An announcement to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis in Minnesota, a program that shields about 700 individuals nationwide from deportation.
• An order to re-examine green cards of people from “countries of concern,” including Somalia.
• A threat to pause all immigration from what Trump termed “Third World Countries.”

A Community Braces for Impact

Minnesota is home to an estimated 80,000 to 94,000 Somalis, the majority of whom are US citizens or legal residents who arrived after fleeing the civil war that began in the early 1990s. Many spent years in refugee camps in Kenya before being resettled. Community leaders have expressed terror and outrage at the President's remarks and the looming raids. Minneapolis Council Member Jamal Osman noted his community is “terrified” and urged residents to know their legal rights. The developments raise fears not only for those directly targeted but for the broader immigrant community, including Kenyans living in the US who face their own uncertainties amidst aggressive immigration policies.