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Pres. Trump rails against Minnesota, Somalis
Speaking in the Oval Office, President Trump called Mayor Jacob Frey "a fool" for being proud of having the largest Somali population in the United States. He also claims Somalis have destroyed Minnesota, which the president says is a "hellhole."
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As a targeted immigration enforcement operation is underway in the Twin Cities, President Trump again took a swing at Minnesota's Somali community during a press event in the Oval Office.
President Trump rants against Somalis
What we know:
While announcing rollbacks to fuel efficiency standards put in place under the Biden administration, President Trump went on a rant about Somalis in Minnesota.
The president was asked about a statement Mayor Jacob Frey made on Tuesday saying he was proud Minneapolis was home to the largest Somali population in the United States.
Trump insulted Mayor Frey, calling him "a fool" and then preceded to blame Somalis for "destroying Minnesota" during a roughly two-and-a-half-minute-long rant on Wednesday afternoon.
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Mayor Frey speaks to Somali community: 'We love you, we stand with you'
Minneapolis officials are responding to reports that as many as 100 federal agents will be deployed to the Twin Cities, with a specific focus on targeting the Somali community. Mayor Jacob Frey delivered a message in Somali on Tuesday, saying, "We love you, we stand with you, we aren’t backing down."
What they're saying:
"Look at their nation," President Trump said. "Look how bad their nation is. It's not even a nation, it's just people walking around killing each other. Look, these Somalians have taken billions of dollars out of our country. They've taken billions and billions of dollars."
The president also took shots at Gov. Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar, telling Omar to "go back to your own country."
"Walz should be ashamed, that beautiful land, that beautiful state. It's a hellhole right now. And the Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country, and all they do is complain, complain, complain."
"What the Somalian people have done to Minnesota is not even believable," Trump said. "It's not even believable. And a lot of it starts with the governor. A lot of it starts with Barack Hussein Obama, because that's when people started coming in, and you have to have people come in that are going to love our country, cherish our country. They want to kiss our country good night. They talk about our country; we want them to pray for our country. This is not the people living in Minnesota and she's a disaster. She should not be – and her friends shouldn't be allowed. Frankly, they shouldn't even be allowed to be congresspeople… because they don't represent the interests of our country."
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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.
ICE operation underway in Minnesota
The backstory:
As Trump made the remarks on Wednesday, there is reportedly an operation underway in Minnesota. Local leaders say as many as 100 federal agents had responded to the metro to target undocumented Somali residents.
President Trump has said the enforcement actions have been driven by fraud cases, like the Feeding Our Future scheme, that have involved members of the Somali community.
While FOX 9 has seen multiple reports of ICE enforcement actions underway in the metro on Wednesday, we have been unable to substantiate any of the reports. However, on Tuesday, our photographer spotted an ICE agent confronting two men in Minneapolis.
Local perspective:
The Twin Cities metro is home to as many as 84,000 people of Somali descent, according to U.S. Census estimates. Minnesota has the highest Somali population in the United States.