Donald Trump calls Somali immigrants ‘garbage’ as ICE operations reportedly planned in Minnesota - US politics live

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Minneapolis ‘stands with’ Somali community

Minneapolis is home to the country’s largest Somali population, with about 80,000 living in the state. Most are US citizens or legal residents.

In response to Trump’s attack and the looming immigration crackdown reported, the city leaders held a press conference on Tuesday.

Mayor Jacob Frey said the city stands with its Somali community.

“To our Somali community, we love you and we stand with you,” he said. “That commitment is rock solid.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey with other city leaders on Tuesday Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

He condemned the plan to target people who just look like they could be from the East African nation, saying it violates basic principles of American democracy.

“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 they look Somali,” Frey said.

The city’s police chief has said that his department had not received advance notice of any operations, and besides, Minneapolis police do not assist federal agents with immigration enforcement.

ICE planning operations targeting Somalis -reports

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area, where most Somalis reside, would see stepped-up deportation efforts this week, focusing primarily on Somalis who have final deportation orders.

It would use “strike teams” of ICE agents and other federal officers, bringing in about 100 agents from across the country, the Times reported. Other media outlets, including the Associated Press, have confirmed the reporting.

Federal immigration agents raid a home in St. Paul last week Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

The move comes after the right has seized on several fraud cases, spanning multiple years, that involve dozens of Somali residents who prosecutors allege lied to the state to receive reimbursements for meal disbursements, medical care, housing and autism services. The Trump administration previously threatened to revoke temporary protected status for Somalis in Minnesota, citing the state as a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity”.

Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, also announced on Monday that his agency would be investigating whether taxpayer dollars from Minnesotans had “been diverted to the terrorist organization Al-Shabaab”, sharing a recent story from a rightwing outlet that made such claims.

Trump attacks Somali community

In a cabinet meeting on Tuesdya, Trump went off on Somalis and Ilhan Omar, the congressional representative who is from Somalia and is a US citizen. He said Somalia “stinks” and is “no good for a reason”.

“They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. He called Omar “garbage” and said “we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country”.

“These are people who do nothing but complain,” he said. “They complain, and from where they came from, they got nothing … When they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.”

“His obsession with me is creepy,” Omar responded in a social media post. “I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.”

Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat and the first Somali-American elected to Congress Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our US Politics live blog, as we track the escalating attacks against immigrants being launched by the Trump administration.

Yesterday, President Trump called Somali immigrants “garbage” in a xenophobic rant in cabinet where he said “I don’t want them in our country” and they should “go back to where they came from”. It comes amid reports ICE agents are about to launch crackdowns targeting the Somali communities in Minnesota.

The Trump administration yesterday also halted all immigration for people from 19 nations – including Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen and Haiti.

The 19 non-European countries have been under a partial travel ban since June – but this dramatic move brings to a halt all stages of the journey including green card and US citizenship processing.

It’s a move that affects countless people, and with no word as to how long the pause will last, it’s almost certain that families will remain separated for longer, in limbo.

I’m Frances Mao, stay with me as I take you through the key details.