MN leaders push back on Somali ‘scapegoating’ ahead of threatened immigration sweep

As federal executives under the direction of President Donald Trump prepare an enforcement operation targeted at Somali immigrants in Minnesota local leaders and members of the Somali public Tuesday pushed back against what they see as an effort to sow division and chaos Last month the Trump administration suspended Temporary Protected Status for Somali immigrants in Minnesota of which there are estimated to be around Now immigration enforcement actions are expected in the Twin Cities for those with deportation orders Kassim Busuri a former appointee to the St Paul City Council who was born in Somalia described the planned enforcement action as a political stunt as only a limited hundred of the or so Somalis in Minnesota have TPS We know Donald Trump is just playing with emotions The numbers he s thinking about about illegal immigration and criminals ask the police department Majority of will say Somalis are model citizens and role models mentioned Busuri who is a volunteer executive director at the Minnesota Da wah Institute a Muslim population organization Division and chaos We should write letters to President Trump telling him why we are not garbage declared Kassim Busuri to students after prayer in the mosque at the Da wah Institute on Fairview Ave in St Paul on Tuesday Dec John Autey Pioneer Press Around of Somali immigrants are naturalized U S citizens per the U S Census Bureau Jaylani Hussein with the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Minnesota reported the Associated Press that of Somalis in the state were U S citizens At a Tuesday Cabinet meeting Trump called Somali immigrants garbage saying they contribute nothing and that he didn t want them in the U S Their country is no good for a reason reported Trump who has blamed Somali immigrants and Gov Tim Walz for fraud in Minnesota The planned sweeps and Trump s suspension of TPS come after an unconfirmed review that fraud funds in Minnesota may have ended up funding a terrorist group in Somalia U S Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced the matter is now under inspection by his department Everything is being put into the media to make us look bad Busuri explained He s pitting the region against each other Trump is trying to start a ruckus in Minnesota and cause division and chaos as usual Former Acting U S Attorney Joe Thompson has declared fraud in current years could top billion Nearly individuals have been charged in the Feeding Our Future circumstance involving as much as million in federal pandemic relief money administered by the state Department of Learning A number of the defendants in that situation are Somali Meanwhile the U S Attorney s Office in Minnesota also is prosecuting fraud cases in autism and housing stabilization operation programs funded by Medicare and administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services Local response On Tuesday state and local leaders including Walz St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back against what they have called the demonization of Somalis by Trump Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks during a news conference addressing the media following reports that the Trump administration will be targeting Somali immigrants in the Twin Cities at City Hall in Minneapolis Tuesday Dec Leila Navidi Star Tribune via AP Targeting Somali people means that due process will be violated Mistakes will be made And let s be clear it means that American citizens will be detained for no other reason than the fact that they look like they are Somali Frey reported For decades the Somali district has added greatly to our city The economic fabric their hard work their leadership It has made Minneapolis a better place The Council on American-Islamic Relations has described the Trump administration s modern targeting of Somalis as political scapegoating Amina Deble came to the U S years ago and like countless Minnesota-based members of Somalia s diaspora became a citizen a sparse years later Deble owns the Oasis Mediterranean restaurant in the West Bank Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis and raised six kids to adulthood in Minnesota I just want to say thank you to the governor and the mayor Jacob Frey all the leaders who are standing up for the rights of Somalis she declared If there s fraud in this area there s specific people who did that and for those specific people we re more than happy for them to face the law just like other Americans Deble noted that like her a large number of Somali immigrants in Minnesota are naturalized U S citizens and have little to worry about I don t think they will have fear she declared Those who aren t I think they ll go through the law The governor has already spoken about this the mayor others ICE raids The upcoming Twin Cities immigration sweep follows higher-profile immigration raids this year in the Twin Cities which drew protests and resulted in clashes between demonstrators and police Two November raids in St Paul resulted in law enforcement using chemical spray and rubber bullets St Paul has a separation ordinance barring the city from working with federal immigration enforcement though last week the St Paul Police Department responded to a protest during an immigration raid on the city s East Side Carter declared his office was working with city police to work on facilitating peaceful protests in the future The last thing that we need is federal agents coming to town attempting to turn us against each other to turn us against ourselves the mayor declared at a news conference Tuesday with Frey The last thing we need is federal agents coming in town to create chaos and challenge for us Carter urged anyone with concerns in St Paul to reach out to immigrant and refugee services a list of which the City Attorney s Office compiles on the city s website Ramsey County sheriff We don t do immigration enforcement Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher stated his agency hasn t been involved with any current immigration raids or protests but that his office is in the process of reviewing contemporary events to develop a agenda on how deputies should approach feasible future incidents Fletcher explained his agency patrols six cities that contract with the county and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could eventually show up in one of them like Arden Hills Little Canada or Vadnais Heights We don t do immigration enforcement Fletcher revealed We have very little really very little contact with ICE but we want to be prepared for when an event does occur Inquired about the Trump administration s plans for targeted enforcement action against Somalis Fletcher stated he supposed only a very small number would be affected To my knowledge there are very meager Somalis who aren t citizens he announced I m guessing ICE is also targeting other communities Somalis in Minnesota The first Somali refugees started to arrive in Minnesota after the collapse of the regime of President Siad Barre in and an ensuing civil war that forced close to a million Somalis to leave the country Plenty of still live in refugee camps in Kenya Minnesota became a popular destination for Somali refugees for several reasons including quality of instruction safety and affordability compared to other regions of the U S according to Jane Graupman executive director of the International Institute of Minnesota Once a insufficient families were in the state more were attracted to the area Numerous Somalis had first moved to the U S and later relocated to Minnesota Church communities were particularly welcoming to Somali immigrants and played a major role in helping them resettle I think they felt supported by this population revealed Graupman who has worked for the International Institute for years They definitely discovered Minnesota to be a place where they thought that there was a future for their families and their area Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota Catholic Charities and the Minnesota Council of Churches were among the faith-based groups that helped The International Institute also played a role Related Articles Treasury Department reviewing suggests MN fraud funded terrorists Attorney Chris Madel seeks Republican nomination in MN governor race How will Kaohly Her s legislative career shape her leadership of St Paul How fraud swamped Minnesota s social services system on Tim Walz s watch A look at St Paul s legal tangles with the Trump administration Nowadays there are around Somalis living in Minnesota more than in any other state The vast majority live in the Twin Cities and the bulk are citizens Across sectors they re very integrated into our neighborhood declared Graupman noting large Somali participation in the healthcare care workforce among other fields To have a president say Somalis are contributing nothing to our country it couldn t be further from the truth