Federal authorities plan operation in Minnesota focusing on Somali immigrants, AP source says
MINNEAPOLIS AP Federal personnel are preparing a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would primarily focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U S according to a person familiar with the planning The move comes as President Donald Trump again on Tuesday escalated rhetoric about Minnesota s sizable Somali society saying he did not want immigrants from the east African country in the U S because they contribute nothing The enforcement operation could begin in the coming days and is expected to focus on the Minneapolis St Paul area and people with final orders of deportation the person mentioned Teams of immigration agents would spread across the Twin Cities in what the person described as a directed high-priority sweep though the plans remain subject to change The prospect of a crackdown is likely to deepen tensions in Minnesota home to the nation s largest Somali public Countless fled their country s long civil war and were drawn to the state s welcoming social programs Trump has become increasingly focused on people of Somalian descent living in the U S saying they have caused a lot of trouble District leaders say Trump has inflamed tensions and revived fears of profiling The president explained during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Somali immigrants are too reliant on the U S social safety net and add little I don t want them in our country he mentioned Their country is no good for a reason Minneapolis police won t help with immigration enforcement Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey pushed back against Trump s depiction of Somalis saying it violates the moral fabric of what we stand by in this country as Americans They have started businesses and created jobs They have added to the cultural fabric of what Minneapolis is Frey reported Tuesday The mayor vowed that the city s police officers a great number of of whom are Somali will not work with any federal agents doing immigration enforcement saying it s not their job 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 he disclosed That is not now and will never be a legitimate reason Hundreds of people are expected to be targeted in the operation the person revealed As with previous immigration operations so-called incidental arrests are accomplishable meaning people who aren t targeted but lack legal status could also be detained the person reported The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations that have not been publicly disclosed The operation was first announced by The New York Times Homeland Measure spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin commented the agency would not discuss future or prospective operations What makes someone a target of ICE is not their race or ethnicity but the fact that they are in the country illegally McLaughlin reported Trump ramps up criticism of Somalis Trump and other executives in his administration have used increasingly harsh language in latest days against Somalis living in the U S after a conservative news outlet City Journal claimed that taxpayer dollars from defrauded regime programs have flowed to the Somali militant group al-Shabab an affiliate of al-Qaida that holds parts of rural Somalia and often has targeted the capital Mogadishu Last month Trump announced he was terminating Temporary Protected Status for Somali asylum seekers in Minnesota a legal safeguard against deportation for immigrants from certain countries A document produced for Congress in August put the number of Somalis covered by the campaign at just nationwide Minnesota Democratic Gov Tim Walz noted Tuesday that anyone committing fraud should go to prison but he criticized the Trump administration s actions Sitting on the sidelines and throwing out accusations and let s be very clear demonizing an entire population and lying to people about the safety and shield of this state is beneath that revealed the Democratic vice presidential candidate Trump has claimed immigrants from Somalia were utterly taking over the once great State of Minnesota Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a social media post Monday that his agency was scrutinizing accusations that tax dollars may have been diverted Al-Shabaab Nearly all Somalis in Minnesota are citizens Jaylani Hussein a Somali American who is executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations noted his group has heard of less than a dozen immigration arrests within the Somali society in new days But Hussein declared around of Somalis in Minnesota are U S citizens so the numbers of those at earlier stages of the immigration process are a pretty small proportion of the neighborhood He revealed they estimate that of the region was born in the U S We believe this is political rhetoric and an attack against our area Hussein revealed But additional ICE agents means additional pressure on the wider immigrant population he commented Hussein declared the informed crackdown plan is yet another example of the Trump administration demonizing the Muslim area And he revealed it s not new that when somebody in the population commits a crime the entire locality will get accused He disclosed that s been true of other ethnic groups through American history Minneapolis City Council member Jamal Osman who is Somali American promised that the city will stand up for its immigrants Our group has lived through fear in the past he mentioned And we are not going to let us divide that Associated Press journalist Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this overview Source
