US President Donald Trump on Tuesday delivered a fiery tirade against Somali immigrants, asserting that they are not wanted in the United States while drawing attention to Somalia’s long-term instability.
His remarks came as Minnesota faces a major scandal in which prosecutors allege that more than $1 billion was diverted through fraudulent claims for social services, much of it involving false billing by Somali Americans.
“In Somalia there is nothing; they simply run around killing each other,” Trump said during a cabinet meeting.
“Their country is terrible, and we do not want them in our country,” he added.
Trump has a lengthy record of attacking minority groups and first gained political momentum by promoting the false claim that former president Barack Obama had been born in Kenya rather than the United States.
He has frequently appealed to fears among white Americans of losing cultural and political dominance.
“We are at a tipping point,” Trump warned during the cabinet meeting.
“We could head either way, and we will head the wrong way if we continue bringing rubbish into our country.”
Trump insisted that Somali Americans “contribute nothing” and issued personal attacks against Ilhan Omar, the Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota who was originally from Somalia.
“Ilhan Omar is rubbish. Her friends are rubbish,” he said.
“Let them return to where they came from and fix the situation.”
Omar responded later on X, writing: “His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.”
Trump recently ended deportation protections for Somalis that had been in place since 1991, when Somalia fell into armed conflict and lawlessness.
Authorities in Minnesota are currently investigating several schemes involving the theft of taxpayer funds, including from groups that falsely claimed to have provided meals to children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minnesota, a historically Democratic-leaning state with a tradition of welcoming refugees, hosts one of the largest Somali American communities in the United States.
The political stakes have risen, as Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, is a Democrat who was his party’s unsuccessful candidate for vice president in last year’s election.
In a separate action last week, Trump ordered a halt to all visa issuance to Afghans following a deadly shooting in Washington carried out by an Afghan who had previously worked with US intelligence and was granted asylum after the Taliban’s return to power.
Glive24/SS