Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has demanded that the Trump administration explain the ICE operation in her home state of Minnesota and explain why it is considering revoking or withdrawing the TPS law that protects hundreds of undocumented Somalis.
Ilhan Omar sent the requests in two letters to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), after President Trump has escalated his rhetoric against Somalis, including Ilhan Omar herself, who fled Somalia as a child.
Trump announced earlier this month that his immigration crackdown would be expanded to Minnesota, sparking fears that the operation would specifically target the Somali community, after the president said Somalis had nothing to add to the United States.
In one of the letters, Ilhan said that the increase in ICE officers in Minnesota is a direct response to Trump’s racist rhetoric toward Somalis, which she particularly concerns.
According to the letter, the citizens Omar represents and local officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul have faced blatant racial profiling, unnecessary use of force, and actions that appear to be designed for social media rather than appropriate for a law enforcement agency.
“I demand answers on behalf of my fellow citizens, whose constitutional rights are being violated on a daily basis,” she wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Assistant Secretary Todd Lyons.
Ilhan Omar asked DHS to release data on the number of people arrested during Operation Metro Surge, including the number of U.S. citizens arrested.
She also asked the agency for details on ICE’s preparedness for the expansion, ways for the public to report potential rights violations, and the expected cost to taxpayers.
“Somali TPS holders, some of whom have lived in the United States for nearly three decades, have built lives here, started businesses, raised families, and become important members of their communities,” said Omar.
Somalis were first granted TPS in 1991, and the law has been extended 27 times. It is currently valid until March 17, 2026, prompting Ilhan Omar to ask why the administration is considering ending it before then.
