Trump targeting Somali community: How many Somalis live in Minneapolis?
Trump, ICE targeting Somalis in Minneapolis: The latest
Immigration officials are ramping up operations in the Twin Cities as the Trump Administration continues to target Somalis in Minnesota. Here's the latest on ICE operations in Minnesota.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - President Donald Trump is reportedly launching an immigration enforcement operation targeting Somalis in the Twin Cities.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the U.S., but what percentage of the city's population do Somalis represent?
How many Somalis live in the Twin Cities?
What we know:
It's difficult to get a hard count for the number of Somalis in Minnesota because it depends on how you count – and how people identify themselves.
If you go by country of birth, there are nearly 100,000 people in the U.S. who were born in Somalia, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In Minnesota, there are more than 41,000 people living here who were born in Somalia. Of the foreign-born Somalis, the vast majority (about 87%) are naturalized citizens.
If you go by ancestry, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey estimates there are more than 107,000 people of Somali descent living in Minnesota, with more than 83,000 of them living in the Twin Cities metro.
In Minneapolis, there are about 33,521 people of Somali descent.
The other side:
It's worth noting the Census contains two sets of estimates when it comes to Somali populations.
The 107,000 statewide count is the higher estimate.
The lower estimate puts the Somali population statewide at about 76,000 with 64,699 living in the Twin Cities metro.
By the numbers:
Going by the larger estimates, the Census puts the total population of the Twin Cities metro at 3.4 million.
That means the Somali community makes up just 1.88% of the state's population and 2.26% of the metro's population.
Big picture view:
While the Twin Cities is home to many immigrant communities, Minnesota is among the least diverse states in the U.S.
More than 76% of Minnesota's population identifies as white. The U.S. Census ranks Minnesota at 38th in its diversity index behind Utah, Indiana and Nebraska.
The largest populations based on cultural ancestry are people of German descent (1.6 million), Norwegian (662,000), and Irish (569,000).