The city is home to more than 80,000 people of Somali descent. News of the operation comes as President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against the community, saying he did not want immigrants from Somalia in the U.S. because “they contribute nothing.”
Trump also continued his attacks on Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, [pictured here] who is of Somali descent, saying during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Omar is “an incompetent person.”
It also comes as some in the community are under fraud investigations, including allegations that millions of dollars from Minnesota state welfare programs instead went to a terrorist group called al-Shabab in Somalia.
Omar told NewsNation she felt Trump’s comments on the Somali community were “totally irresponsible.”
“We are not, and I am not, someone to be intimidated, and we are not going to be scapegoated,” Omar said. “We are here to stay.”
In his remarks during the Cabinet meeting, Trump called Somali immigrants “garbage” and urged them to go back to Somalia to “fix their problems.”
The Trump administration also issued a new travel ban on several countries in response to the two National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C., last week. Somalia is included in the travel ban. Some Republican lawmakers support the move, saying these are necessary steps to “keep the homeland safe.”