Reports of ICE Operation Spark Panic in Minnesota’s Somali Community.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota’s Somali community is bracing for a sweeping immigration enforcement operation after President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Somali immigrants and moved to strip legal protections from some refugees.
The tension has intensified with reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing a major operation targeting Somali nationals who have final deportation orders.
According to a person familiar with internal planning, ICE has mobilized officers from across the country for coordinated actions in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area. While the stated focus is on individuals with removal orders, incidental arrests are possible—a prospect that has triggered widespread anxiety among Somali families.
The Department of Homeland Security would not confirm the operation, insisting only that ICE “enforces the law every day.”
Local officials say the atmosphere in the Twin Cities has already shifted. Community organizers report multiple arrests of Somali men this week, though the purpose and scale of those apprehensions remain unclear.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara held an emergency press conference Tuesday, warning that the community is on edge.
The anxiety follows a series of harsh comments from the president. During a Cabinet meeting, Trump said he does not want Somali immigrants in the United States, claiming without evidence that they rely heavily on public assistance.
In recent days he has accused Somali refugees of “taking over Minnesota,” described Somalia as “barely a country,” and called for sending Somali immigrants “back to where they came from.”
Independent researchers dispute Trump’s claims, noting that Somali Americans work in critical sectors including health care, logistics, and manufacturing, and that a large share of the community holds citizenship or lawful status.
Minnesota is home to roughly 80,000 people of Somali descent, many of whom arrived fleeing civil war.
The looming enforcement action coincides with renewed political scrutiny over fraud schemes tied to state-run nutrition programs. While federal prosecutors have charged dozens of individuals—many of East African descent—with misusing pandemic-era child nutrition funds, investigators have repeatedly stated they found no evidence that money was funneled to terrorist groups.
Nonetheless, a recent City Journal article alleging that diverted Minnesota tax dollars “funded al-Shabaab” has taken hold in conservative media and drew direct attention from activist-writer Christopher Rufo, who urged Trump to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Somalis.
Trump soon announced he would end TPS protections, a move affecting a relatively small number of residents but one that carries symbolic weight.
Gov. Tim Walz has criticized the administration for, in his view, scapegoating an entire community for the actions of a few.
Somali American leaders say the combination of inflammatory rhetoric, sudden policy reversals, and the threat of large-scale immigration raids is creating an atmosphere of fear designed to unsettle immigrant communities.
Federal officials maintain that enforcement will focus solely on individuals with final removal orders. But for many Somali families in Minnesota—now caught in a national political battle—the distinction is becoming harder to believe.
