Trump declares Somalis not wanted in US 

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Somali immigrants add little to the United States and mostly rely on the social safety net provided by the government.

Speaking at the White House during the ninth cabinet meeting of 2025, Trump declared that Somalis “contribute nothing,” while receiving a high percentage of welfare.

“I don’t want them in our country; their country is no good for a reason,” he stated. “Your country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country.”

According to the President, many people from the East African nation do not work or try to make America a great place despite enjoying several benefits.

“These are people that do nothing but complain,” he said. “From where they came from, they got nothing…Somalia is barely a country. They have no anything; they just run around killing each other.”

Trump called Ilhan Omar [Representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district] a “terrible person” and referred to her and other Somali immigrants as “garbage”, urging them to leave the U.S.

Trump also slammed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over the scandal in St. Paul, where multiple individuals allegedly created companies that billed the state for millions of dollars in fraudulent payments.

The President dubbed Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election, “a grossly incompetent man,” adding that: “There’s something wrong with him.”

Reacting to the comments by the U.S. leader, Congresswoman Omar wrote in a post on X: “His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.”

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is set to launch an extensive operation in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the two largest cities in Minnesota, also known as the “Twin Cities”.

Speculation is rife that the federal agency’s action will majorly target the Somali population, but the Department of Homeland Security has dismissed the theory.

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin noted that what makes someone an ICE target “is not their race or ethnicity, but the fact that they are in the country illegally.”

Trump declares Somalis not wanted in US