US President Donald Trump has said he does not want Somali immigrants in the US, urging them to go back to the East African nation, “which is barely a country,” and “fix it.”
Trump’s remarks come amid a broader attack on the Somali-American community, particularly in Minnesota, where the largest Somali diaspora in the US resides. It followed Washington’s move to halt asylum decisions in response to the shooting of two National Guard soldiers near the White House last week.
Speaking to reporters during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump criticized Somali immigrants, including Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar, claiming they “contribute nothing” to US society.
“We’re gonna go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage, she’s garbage. Her friends are garbage,” he said, adding that Somalia “is no good for a reason.”
Omar, who emigrated from Somalia, is the first naturalized US citizen from Africa to serve in Congress. She represents Minnesota’s 5th District and is part of the ‘squad’ of progressive Democrats who frequently clash with Republicans.
Trump previously called her a “scum” in September after she narrowly escaped a censure vote in the House for making disparaging remarks about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He also repeated rumors about her allegedly marrying her brother to “illegally” gain US citizenship.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Omar described Trump’s “obsession” with her as “creepy.”
“I hope he gets the help he desperately needs,” she wrote on X.
Somalia has been plagued by instability and terrorism for decades, driven by the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Al-Shabaab and other militants. Many Somalis emigrated to the US in the 1990s during the country’s civil war.
Last week, Trump announced plans to cut Somalis off from Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that allows immigrants from crisis-hit countries to live and work in the US. He claimed that “gangs” of Somali refugees, who have “completely” taken over Minnesota, are terrorizing people in the “once great state” and that billions of dollars are missing.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whom Trump called a “retarded” leader for “doing nothing” to address the issue, has condemned Washington’s move to end the TPS as “discriminatory and harmful.”