Federal law enforcement agents have officially started targeted operations in Minnesota aimed at Somali immigrants living in the country illegally, a source familiar with the situation tells ABC News.
It comes just a day after multiple sources confirmed the plan to ABC.
RELATED: ICE agents to descend on Twin Cities as soon as this week, sources tell ABC News
What We Know
Federal officials from all across President Donald Trump’s administration have become increasingly focused on Minnesota and its Somali community, which is the largest American Somali population in the country.
Trump and his administration have blamed the community for stealing “billions” of dollars from Minnesota, mainly referencing the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. However, federal prosecutors put the estimated loss from those cases at around $250-$300 million, not in the billions. Factoring in other statewide fraud cases, a U.S. attorney acknowledged the scope of fraud could exceed $1 billion.
RELATED: Trump denigrates Walz, Omar, Somalis as feds focus on Minnesota
Many of the nearly 80 Feeding Our Future defendants are Somali, but most are U.S. citizens in the country legally, and the founder of Feeding Our Future, whom prosecutors called the ringleader, is white.
Last week, Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalia, affecting about 700 Somali nationals living in the U.S. Census data estimates a range, but on the high end, it’s estimated that 108,000 Somali residents live in Minnesota — roughly 1.9% of the state’s population — so fewer than 1% of those 108,000 residents have TPS. That means the vast majority are legal citizens, and over half were born in the U.S., according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Reaction
The federal focus has the Somali community on edge, with one community leader telling 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that fearful calls pour in by the hour.
“We, the Somali community, are always against anyone who is breaking the law, and we would be supportive to treat those criminals, the way they should be. We don’t have anything against that,” Eid Ali said. “But I mean, this is a large community, and I don’t think it’s fair that we just characterize or just put a blanket on all of them to say that these are elements of criminals.”
CAIR-MN held a news conference in response to the ICE operation. Watch in the video player below:
RELATED: Minnesota leaders, community activists decry ‘scapegoating’ of Somalis through TPS threats
Many Minnesota officials — including Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar, state lawmakers and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul — have condemned the targeting of the Somali community by Trump and his administration, saying they’re “scapegoating.”
Abdullahi Kahiye, a Hopkins man originally from Kenya, was visiting a Somali friend in Cedar-Riverside on Wednesday afternoon. He told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, “The president called the entire community garbage. We’re not garbage, and we shouldn’t accept that.”
When asked if he thinks people are afraid right now, he said, “Of course,” adding, “[It’s] because of this narrative, the fear-based narrative is going to damage our community, and people are concerned about that.”
“They fear, they’re concerned about it, what is happening,” Kahiye said. “Just the president is targeting one ethnic community this time. They don’t know what is going on, they don’t know why they’re being targeted.”
A restaurant worker in Cedar-Riverside, who asked to remain anonymous, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, “I’ve seen more people shaken up, like I guess business has been slow, because people have been seeing it mostly.”
“I feel like they don’t want to be outside anymore, and mostly when you go outside, I feel like that’s when the ICE agents might go outside as well,” she added.
Homeland Security’s website lists a “do not travel” advisory for Somalia due to safety concerns amid ongoing civil war and political instability involving terrorist groups. That was a key reason Somalia first received the TPS designation more than 30 years ago in 1991.
Protesters rallied on Wednesday to end deportation flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Watch in the video player below:
This is a breaking news story. 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is continuing to gather more information and will provide updates as more details are confirmed.
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