(New York) According to Donald Trump, “hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees are completely taking over the once prosperous state of Minnesota.”
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In fact, about 260,000 people of Somali descent live in the United States, 84,000 of whom are in Minneapolis, Minnesota’s largest city, according to census data.
According to the president, moreover, “the Somalis have defrauded this state of several billion dollars”.
“Every year, billions of dollars,” he insisted Tuesday at the end of a meeting of his cabinet, alluding to a fraud involving a non-profit organization from the Somali community of Minnesota. “And they don’t make any contribution.” »
In reality, this fraud amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars. The sums are significant, but much lower than what the occupant of the White House claims.
Since his first term, Donald Trump has maintained a particular animosity towards the Somali community in Minnesota. However, this animosity has inspired him to make even more virulent comments than usual in recent days. And she contributed to the announcement on Tuesday of an immigration police (ICE) operation targeting mainly illegal Somalis in the Minneapolis area.
A major fraud
The attack in Washington against two National Guard soldiers, the suspect of which is an Afghan refugee, served as a pretext for Donald Trump to resume his attacks against the Somali community in Minnesota.
PHOTO EVELYN HOCKSTEIN, REUTERS
Alabama National Guard soldiers look at a makeshift memorial honoring West Virginia National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom.
When a reporter asked the president what the Somalis had to do with the Washington shooter, he replied, “Ah, none.” But the Somalis caused a lot of problems. They are cheating us out of a lot of money. »
He was referring to this fraud involving the organization Feeding Our Future, which embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars intended to feed children through a program created during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though the alleged mastermind of this fraud is a white woman, dozens of people from the Somali community participated and were convicted.
But the president also endorsed an unfounded accusation, namely that part of the stolen money was used to finance the Islamist group Al-Shabab, a subsidiary of Al-Qaeda in Somalia.
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced an investigation into whether Minnesota taxpayer dollars “may have been diverted to benefit a terrorist organization.”
Racism and xenophobia
The next day, during his cabinet meeting, Donald Trump gave free rein to the expression of racism and xenophobia whose virulence was surprising, even on his part.
“I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” he said of the 84,000 people of Somali descent in and around Minneapolis, 58 percent of whom were born in the United States and 87 percent of those born in Somalia have American citizenship.
Some people will say, “Oh, that’s not politically correct.” I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country. Their country is not good, it’s not for nothing. Their country is rotten, and we don’t want them in our country. I can say the same thing about other countries.
Donald Trump
The president also attacked one of his favorite targets, Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who came to the United States at the age of 8 as a Somali refugee.
“Ilhan Omar is trash. She is trash. His friends are trash,” he said. “These are people who do nothing but complain. »
“Unhealthy” obsession
“I would say the president’s obsession with me and the Somali community is really unhealthy. It’s scary,” Ilhan Omar replied Wednesday on MS NOW.
PHOTO BEN CURTIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Ilhan Omar in March
I hope he gets the help he needs.
Ilhan Omar, Democratic Representative from Minnesota
Donald Trump’s comments, combined with news of an impending ICE operation in and around Minneapolis, prompted local leaders to come to the defense of members of the Somali community.
“Targeting Somalis means that due process will be violated, it means that American citizens will be detained for no reason other than the fact that they look like they are Somali,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a joint news conference with his St. Paul counterpart.
In an editorial published Wednesday, the Minneapolis Star Tribune for his part deplored the president’s remarks according to which “Minnesota is a den of fraudsters, all from the hordes of immigrants.”
“This speech is divisive, racist and erroneous,” wrote the daily. For Trump to demonize an entire diaspora, the vast majority of whom live here as legal citizens or permanent residents, is beyond reprehensible. It’s dangerous. »
