Trump should visit Somali community in Minnesota, locals say

Trump should 'come visit in our state' says Somali business owner

A Somali-American business owner says President Trump should visit the community that Somali immigrants built in Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Some Minnesota Somalis are inviting President Trump to visit their community after he announced an immigration enforcement operation targeted at them.

"We want to tell the president we're not ‘garbage,’ actually, we smell really good," said Farhio Khalif, a business owner at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis. "If President Trump, right now, is watching the Somali community, we would like to invite him to come visit in our state. This state is great. We have diversity, the largest immigrant communities here."

READ MORE: Somalis who voted for Trump sharing their thoughts

Somali community on to ICE activity, Trump comments 

Somali community urges Trump to visit MN

Some of the Somali community is urging President Donald Trump to visit Minnesota and meeting the community. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has the latest.

What they're saying:

Karmel Mall in the Whittier neighborhood of Minneapolis was largely empty on Wednesday, with business owners attributing it to the fear felt in the community.

Khalif added, "I think a lot of the community are very much really stressed out [about] what's happening and really been we will call the word fearful, about afraid, why this is taking place in the Somali community."

It's a sentiment shared by many as ICE activity increases in the city.

Waris Mohamud, a Karmel Mall business owner, shared the challenges she faced following the ICE presence announcement.

"We had a hard time for our business, even as you see, no one is entering the mall. So we are devastated, really what our president is doing," said Mohamud.

Despite a drop in foot traffic and widespread anxiety, she said she doesn't regret voting for President Trump.

"I voted for the reason he said, 'I'm gonna make America great again.' So we don't wanna our president, you know, saying all the Somalis they are bad, we're not bad," she said.

Trump targets Somali Minnesotans with ICE operation 

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."

The backstory:

President Donald Trump said he does not want people from Somalia in the United States, saying Somalis "ripped off" the state of Minnesota and "contribute to nothing." 

READ MORE: Pres. Trump rails against Somalis: 'They've destroyed 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.