In Minnesota this past weekend, an incident involving immigration authorities has garnered significant attention. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) reported that her son was stopped and questioned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after exiting a Target store. According to Omar, her son was released after presenting his U.S. passport, which he carries routinely as a precaution.
This encounter comes amid a broader immigration crackdown that is taking place across Minnesota, a state that has recently been the focus of President Donald Trump's sharp criticism due to a substantial fraud scandal. The President has been vocal about the need for intensified immigration enforcement in response to the scandal, which has led to national scrutiny.
Rep. Omar expressed her concern that these increased operations might constitute racial profiling, particularly targeting young Somali men. She also recalled an earlier incident where ICE agents allegedly entered a mosque and departed without making any arrests during prayer time. These actions, according to Omar, have instilled a sense of fear within immigrant communities throughout the Twin Cities region and across the state.
The congresswoman, who was born in Somalia and immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1990s, has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration's immigration policies. She has attributed the operations to racial profiling and has referred to the intensified immigration enforcement as "Operation Metro Surge," a term she employed in her criticism published by the New York Post.
Furthermore, Rep. Omar and other Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. The letter alleges racial profiling and the use of unnecessary force in recent operations throughout Minnesota communities. As of this report, ICE has not provided a public statement confirming the encounter with Omar's son or commenting on the broader enforcement activity.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States, and this community has become a focal point in the political debate surrounding immigration and fraud, especially following several high-profile cases and federal investigations.
Omar has emphasized that most Somali-Americans are citizens and contends that enforcement efforts have unjustly targeted law-abiding families, regardless of their legal documentation and significant contributions to the community. These statements come at a time when President Trump has also announced an investigation into Omar herself for alleged immigration fraud involving her marital history, accusations that have been fiercely debated in the public sphere.
