Somali Residents in Wisconsin Fearful After Trump’s Remarks, Federal Raids

Donald Trump. Photo from the White House.

Federal immigration “strike teams” are in Minnesota looking for undocumented Somali immigrants, after President Donald Trump referred to them as “garbage” and said he doesn’t want them in the U.S.

The comments and actions have sown fear among Somali communities in Wisconsin and sparked discussions about what members should do if they encounter U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Trump’s remarks came during a cabinet meeting at the White House Tuesday, when the president said Somali residents “contribute nothing” to America.

“I don’t want them in our country,” said Trump, who suggested their home country “is no good for a reason.”

“Your country stinks, and we don’t want them in our country,” said Trump.

The president’s comments followed news of a massive fraud scandal in Minnesota, where federal prosecutors have filed felony charges against dozens of residents for allegedly stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from a government assistance program aimed at providing food to children. Law enforcement officials claim a number of Somali residents created fraudulent companies that billed Minnesota agencies for services that weren’t provided.

Trump’s comments captured the attention of members of the Somali population in the small northwestern Wisconsin city of Barron about two hours from Minneapolis. Faisal Ahmed is a Somali refugee who fled the country’s ongoing civil war around 20 years ago and came to the U.S. In 2015, he became a U.S. citizen and now serves on the Barron City Council.

Ahmed told WPR the Somali community in Barron is made up of “resilient people,” most of them citizens. He said if people broke the law in Minnesota, they should punished, but the vast majority of Somalis in the U.S. are law-abiding citizens who have built families and businesses.

“I think he (Trump) doesn’t know the Somali culture and there’s misunderstanding about Somali people,” Ahmed said. “Somali people are not garbage, they are not bad people. We see ourselves as builders.”

In Barron, Somali residents have built restaurants, mosques and clothing stores. Ahmed said if Trump and ICE are looking for criminals in Minnesota, “we are not against that,” but noted there’s a process. He said many members of the Somali population in Barron travel to the Twin Cities on the weekends to buy Halal foods and visit with family and friends.

“We told them the rights they have if they encounter ICE,” said Ahmed. “Just follow what the law suggests to do.”

Ahmed said Somalis “love this country very much” and came to America for opportunity.

President’s comments described as dangerous ‘Somali-phobia’

In Green Bay, Said Hassan has helped head the nonprofit Community Services Agency, Inc., also known as COMSA, which has served thousands of refugees and immigrants since 2016. The organization offers case management, housing support, employment assistance, English as second language classes and K-12 after-school programs.

As a Somali refugee who resettled in the U.S. in 2015 and became a naturalized citizen during Trump’s first term, Hassan calls the president’s rhetoric “very dangerous.” He described it to WPR as “Somali-phobia.”

“It has been recurring, particularly here and in Midwest, because we have a very large dominance of Somalis in the Twin Cities,” Hassan said.

He, too, said anyone who broke the law in Minnesota should face justice, but Somalis aren’t sure what the federal deportation efforts mean for them.

“Does that mean individuals who are legally in the country, but the English language is not the first language and cannot be able to express themselves and they don’t have the papers with them at that moment, do they tend to fall under that category?” Hassan asked.

He said it’s something Somali refugees didn’t anticipate when they came to America.

“How can we tell them we are equally important, but also contributing members of the community and law-abiding citizens?” said Ahmed. “We are American citizens, so how can they hear from us rather than hearing from one-sided media rhetoric that is pulling the negative rhetoric from the president?”

‘It does create a profound amount of fear’

Matthew Soerens is a government relations director for World Relief, which resettles and assists refugees from around the world in states like Wisconsin. He said Trump’s comments about Somali residents and the federal deportation efforts in Minnesota is “a really unusual dynamic.”

“The reality is, if you’re looking for populations where there are large numbers of people who are undocumented, you don’t look at Somalians, because they’re almost all lawfully present,” said Soerens. “And yet, it does create a profound amount of fear for people who are lawfully present.”

He said Trump’s anti-immigrant efforts date back to the start of his second term as president. With executive orders, Trump suspended all decisions on refugee applications and halted federal funding for resettlement agencies like World Relief. More recently, said Soerens, refugees have been barred from receiving federal SNAP food assistance, and the Trump administration is planning to re-interview refugees who entered the U.S. over the past four years. He said that could unearth trauma for refugees who have suffered immensely.

“But also, there’s a not illegitimate fear that some people could have a different human being make a different determination and uproot them from the life that they have been rebuilding in Wisconsin,” Soerens said. Back in Green Bay, Hassan said it’s all been weighing on refugees already in the state. He said COMSA has been working to “settle their mental health.”

“How can we work together to say tomorrow is better than today?” said Hassan.

Listen to the WPR report

Somali residents in Wisconsin uneasy following Trump comments, federal raids was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.