Wolgamott Accuses Trump of Spreading Fear With Attacks on Somali Community

(KNSI) – A local lawmaker is criticizing President Donald Trump after his recent remarks about Minnesota’s Somali residents.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said he didn’t want Somalis in the U.S. because “they contribute nothing” and that “we’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country.”

The remarks came as federal authorities prepare a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would primarily focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S., according to a person familiar with the planning.

St. Cloud Representative Dan Wolgamott accused the President of creating chaos, confusion, and fear to distract the nation from his shortcomings. “Instead of doing anything to solve the affordability crisis he created for middle-class families, he’s spreading disgusting, inflammatory lies about members of our Somali community to distract us from his failures. Somali Minnesotans are our neighbors, coworkers, classmates, and friends. Minnesotans deserve solutions to make life better, not words and actions that scapegoat entire communities to divide us.”

According to the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey, Minnesota has the largest Somali American population in the U.S., with the largest population in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. It’s estimated to have a population of 84,000. Almost 58% of Somalis in Minnesota were born in the U.S. An overwhelming majority of the remaining 42% are naturalized citizens.

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