I am a citizen and so are majority of Somalis in America. Good luck celebrating a policy change that really doesn’t have much impact on the Somalis you love to hate. We are here to stay ????? https://t.co/JHSO3PKL6O
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 22, 2025
Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District — covering most of Minneapolis as well as surrounding areas in Hennepin and Ramsey counties — contains the largest Somali American population in the entire country. It’s no surprise, then, that Trump’s decision hits directly at the political base Rep. Ilhan Omar has relied on for years.
Back in June, President Trump tightened restrictions on foreign nationals coming from Somalia, citing the country’s long-standing instability and its role as a safe haven for terrorist factions. It was one of several national-security steps he took regarding high-risk regions.
Omar herself arrived in the United States in 1995 at age 12 after fleeing Somalia’s civil war. She and her family spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before being resettled in the U.S.
Trump has never shied away from highlighting the contrast between Omar’s own escape to America and her frequent criticisms of the country. He’s repeatedly pointed out — in blunt Trump fashion — that if she thinks the United States is irredeemably flawed, she has the freedom to book a flight back to the place she fled.
“I love these people. They come from a place with nothing. Nothing. No anything,” Trump said following a failed attempt to censure the congresswoman. “And then they tell us how to run our country.”
