Somalis among those arrested in Minneapolis immigration operation, DHS says
MINNEAPOLIS — People of Somali origin are among those arrested in a Minneapolis immigration crackdown, federal officials said Thursday, days after President Donald Trump used derogatory language about Somali immigrants and said he wanted them sent “back to where they came from.”
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The Department of Homeland Security said the Minneapolis arrests began Monday, offering its first statement on the operation. Officials did not provide a total number of people taken into custody but released profiles of 12 individuals apprehended — five from Somalia and the rest from Mexico and El Salvador.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin characterized those profiled as dangerous criminals, citing convictions that ranged from fraud and vehicle theft to criminal sexual conduct and driving under the influence.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, has sharply criticized Trump’s attacks on the city’s Somali population. On Thursday, he urged Americans to “love and respect” Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community, the largest in North America.
Trump’s allies have applauded his hard line on immigration. During a televised Cabinet meeting Tuesday, he responded to reports of government fraud among pockets of Minnesota’s Somali population by calling immigrants there “garbage” and saying he wanted them sent “back to where they came from.”
Anti-immigration themes were central to Trump’s campaign, and since taking office in January he has overseen aggressive operations by masked federal agents across the country in a bid to drive deportations to record levels. His public language about immigrants has also grown harsher.
Parallel arrests in New Orleans spark protests
Also Thursday, federal officials said they had arrested dozens of people in New Orleans, another Democratic-run city. On the second day of that operation, protesters disrupted a City Council meeting, urging councilmembers to declare city property “ICE Free” zones where federal immigration agents would not conduct operations.
Demonstrators accused federal agents of indiscriminately targeting people of color, including U.S. citizens with no criminal record — an allegation the Department of Homeland Security denies.
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno said in a statement that, as of Wednesday, the operation had created a culture of fear among the city’s most vulnerable residents. “We must do what we can to protect New Orleans and ensure due process is followed for all of our residents,” she said, announcing an online portal for citizens to report abuse by federal immigration officers.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, has supported federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The twin operations underscored the widening gulf between the federal government and local leaders in cities with large immigrant populations. In Minneapolis, where Somali families have built a thriving community over decades, city officials sought to reassure residents amid stepped-up enforcement and the president’s inflammatory rhetoric. In New Orleans, clashes moved from the streets into the chambers of local government as pressure built for formal restrictions on how and where immigration agents operate.
DHS did not say how long the Minneapolis operation would continue or whether additional arrests were anticipated. Civil rights advocates and immigration attorneys in both cities said they were tracking detentions and gathering reports from residents, urging those affected to know their rights and seek legal counsel.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
