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In Minneapolis, confrontations between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and protesters have become a pressure point for something older and deeper than a dispute over deportations. For Somali Americans in Minnesota — home to more than 100,000 people of Somali descent — the scenes on the streets are the latest chapter in a generational experience of displacement, stigmatization and resilience. Across a tightly connected global diaspora, the anxiety is acute, but so is the resolve. Over much of his second term,…

Analysis: Ilhan Omar attack spotlights a volatile clash over Trump’s anti-Somali rhetoric and Minnesota’s immigration crackdown Ilhan Omar was sprayed with a foul-smelling liquid during a Minneapolis town hall Tuesday, an attack that unfolded as the Minnesota congresswoman denounced federal immigration enforcement and called for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The incident, carried out by a man who rushed the stage with a syringe, left Omar unharmed but underscored a combustible mix: the Trump…

‘It’s never been like this’: Minneapolis’ Somali Americans under sweeping federal scrutiny On an icy Friday morning in south Minneapolis, Mahad Omar watched armed federal agents sprint past his window and tackle a neighbor to the pavement. They cuffed the man and loaded him into a black SUV. “Minneapolis is a great city,” said Omar, 28, an Uber driver who came from Somalia as a child. “It’s never been like this.” Across a metro area known for its immigrant roots and East African cultural hubs, Somali Americans say…

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AX) — The Trump administration is preparing to deploy about 2,000 federal immigration agents to Minnesota, significantly expanding enforcement operations in the state as federal officials renew scrutiny of alleged welfare and child care fraud linked to nonprofits run by members of the Somali community, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the plans. The operation, expected to center on the Twin Cities, will include personnel from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S.…

Man who disarmed gunman in Bondi Beach mass shooting receives more than A$2.5 million in donations A man credited with saving lives by wrestling a gun from one of the alleged attackers in the Bondi Beach mass shooting has received a cheque for more than A$2.5 million (€1.4 million) after tens of thousands of people contributed to an online fundraising campaign. Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, was presented with an oversized cheque at his bed in St. George Hospital by social media influencer Zachery Dereniowski, a co-organiser of the…

ICE raids and Trump’s rhetoric rattle Minnesota’s Somali community MINNEAPOLIS — Federal immigration raids, high-profile fraud prosecutions and escalating rhetoric from former president Donald Trump are converging on Minnesota’s Somali community, unsettling daily life in the state that is home to the largest Somali population in the United States. Since Dec. 1, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained 12 people in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area under a Department of Homeland Security initiative called Operation…

MINNEAPOLIS (AX) — Minnesota officials, immigration attorneys and Somali American leaders urged calm Monday and denounced “dangerous misinformation” after former President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that he had immediately terminated Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals — a move legal experts said he cannot make and that has not occurred. TPS for Somalia remains in effect through March 17, 2026, under a Department of Homeland Security designation that shields eligible Somali nationals from…

Uniting Against a Growing Crisis: President Boakai's Call to Action on Drug Abuse In a compelling address that resonates with the challenges faced by many nations today, President Joseph Boakai is urgently navigating the dangerous waters of drug abuse in Liberia—a crisis that has become a nationwide concern. As he unveiled new logistical support for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), including 15 new vehicles that symbolize a tactical response to the escalating drug trade, he emphasized that this issue is not solely a…

Oil, identity and consent: Why Ethiopia’s Somali region is pushing back There are two ways oil can arrive in a place like Ethiopia’s Somali region: with community buy-in and a clear ledger of who benefits, or with suspicion trailing the first truck. This week, as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told lawmakers his government is ready to begin using oil from new wells in the Somali Regional State for domestic markets, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) chose the latter framing—warning that a vital moment for Ethiopia’s…

Prominent Somali American advocate detained by ICE in Minneapolis, unsettling a community he helped build MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Omar Jamal, one of Minnesota’s most visible Somali American civic voices, in downtown Minneapolis on Friday, federal officials and his attorney confirmed. He was later transferred to the Freeborn County jail in Albert Lea, a facility that holds federal immigration detainees. What we know Jamal, 52, was taken into custody by ICE on Friday…