‘This Is So Anti-American’: Members Of The Somali Community Condemn Trump’s Racist Attacks
Li Zhou
Fri, December 5, 2025 at 2:58 AM UTC
3 min read
Somali Americans are condemning President Donald Trump’s racist attacks as he’s railed against members of the community in multiple tirades this past week.
“ This is so anti-American,” Abdikadir Bashir, the executive director of the Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization, told HuffPost. “ When you speak of America, in your mind, what echoes are the words of equality, fairness, justice and not targeted condemnations or bigotry. That is not American.”
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Trump has dialed up his vitriol toward Somali Americans since the shooting of two National Guard members in November. He and other administration officials have seized on the identity of the suspected perpetrator, who is an Afghan national, to lash out further against a number of immigrant groups, including Somali Americans. He’s also latched onto cases of fraud involving social programs in Minnesota, which have included some defendants of Somali descent.
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“We’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” Trump said during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting as he focused on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a progressive Congressmember who came to the U.S. as a Somali refugee as a child.
“I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you,” he added as part of a lengthy rant.
“ I’m not sure if he understands the danger that comes with what he says,” Bashir said. “There are dangerous people out there that are… racist bigots that would use what he is saying as a weapon to attack the community.”
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Bashir noted that a man wearing a mask came to his organization’s Minnesota office on Wednesday and confronted staff about the work they do.
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Khadijo Warsame, a cafe owner in Minneapolis, also told Al Jazeera that local businesses have been closed and customers have been scarce in the days since Trump’s comments.
Omar, as well as Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh, have similarly raised concerns about Trump’s rhetoric stoking further political violence and threats against the community.
“It will, I think, unfortunately encourage fringe elements in the society and in the state, who are looking for excuses to demonize other human beings and terrorize them,” said Abdi Samatar, a geography, environment and society professor at the University of Minnesota.
As Trump has ramped up his hostility toward Somali Americans, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also launched a targeted operation in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, which is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S.
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Although the vast majority of Somali Americans are citizens, the ICE surge has sparked fears of being questioned, Bashir says.
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“There’s fear and anxiety despite our papers, despite our citizenship,” he told HuffPost.
Local leaders have come together to express solidarity amid this onslaught, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressing that the city’s commitment to Somali Americans is “rock solid.” Bashir and more than a hundred people also participated in an event highlighting the strength of the Somali community in a powerful expression of unity in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Wednesday.
” We embody and symbolize the true version of America and its dreams,” Bashir said. “We are teachers, we are police officers, law enforcement. We are senators ...we are congresspeople.”