Immigration Raids Targeting Somalis Begin In Minneapolis

Listen — all hate speech is dangerous, but it’s especially dangerous coming from President Donald Trump, because we know it’s only a matter of time before his hateful and oppressive speech becomes hateful and oppressive policy.

For example, over the past week or so, Trump has been talking about the nation of Somalia like it personally tracked mud into the ballroom he destroyed the East Wing of the White House to create. He has repeatedly described the country as some post-apocalyptic hellscape where people “don’t have anything” except crime, has described the people of Somalia as “garbage” and “trash,” bloviated about how he doesn’t “want them in our country,” and he’s even repeatedly attacked U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) just because she has publicly criticized him while being born in Somalia, a country she hasn’t lived in since she was eight. What’s worse, Trump flies into these anti-Somalia rants completely unprompted.

For example, on Monday, we reported that Trump randomly launched into an angry rant about Somalia and Omar after being asked questions about the recent shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., who, by the way, wouldn’t have been in D.C. in the first place if Trump hadn’t deployed them there via an order that was deemed unlawful by a federal court. Trump was even asked by a reporter what Somalia had to do with the shooting, which a man from Afghanistan stands accused of, to which the president responded, “Ah, nothing, but Somalians have caused a lot of trouble, they’re ripping us off a lot of money.”

Trump was just being the old, white bigot he has always been, but there’s a difference between your average old, white bigot and an old, white bigot who serves in the highest office in the nation.

From BBC:

His disparaging comments came as immigration authorities were reported to be planning an enforcement operation in Minnesota’s large Somali community.

In response, the prime minister of Somalia said he would not give Trump’s comments importance and suggested they should be ignored.

Officials in Minnesota have condemned the reported plan for an immigration enforcement operation, arguing it could unfairly sweep up American citizens who may appear to be from the East African nation.

Minneapolis and St Paul, which together are known as the Twin Cities, are home to one of the largest Somali communities in the world and the largest in the US.

The reported plan, and Trump’s comments, represent an intensification of the president’s recent attacks on Minnesota’s Somali community, whose decades-long protected status in the US he recently pledged to revoke, and its Democratic politicians.

And as we reported Tuesday, in what appeared to be a knee-jerk response to the National Guard shooting in D.C., Trump announced his travel ban will be expanded to include Afghanistan and people from “third-world countries” and “failed nations,” including Somalia, the only other nation he mentioned by name.

Again, the pattern here is clear. On Monday and Tuesday, Trump ranted about how he doesn’t want Somalis — any Somalis — in the U.S., and on Wednesday, his immigration operations in Minneapolis began, specifically targeting Somali migrants, according to Twin Cities leaders.

It’s not just hate speech; it’s hate policy coming from arguably the most hateful president and presidential administrations in recent history.

SEE ALSO:

Donald Trump Attacks Ilhan Omar And Somalia

Trump Immigration Ploy Is A Return To Racial Control Policies

Twin Cities Prepares For Immigration Raids Targeting Somali Migrants Following Trump’s Anti-Somali Hate Speech was originally published on newsone.com