White House border czar Tom Homan on Sunday brushed off criticism of immigration raids in Minnesota’s Somali communities, insisting that federal agents are looking for criminal aliens and U.S. citizens have nothing to fear.
The raids, which Mr. Homan says could result in 600,000 deportations nationwide, have sparked backlash from Democrats and local leaders, including in the Twin Cities, where roughly 80,000 Somalis live.
Mr. Homan pushed back against claims of heavy-handed tactics, saying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are following the law and anyone who doesn’t will be held accountable.
“There’s a large illegal Somali community there, there is a large illegal alien community there,” he said of Minnesota. “We are looking for criminal aliens.”
Democratic leaders in Minnesota say the vast majority of the Somalis living there are U.S. citizens.
President Trump last month said he was immediately terminating temporary deportation protections for Somalis in Minnesota, apparently in response to reports that some Somalis had defrauded Minnesota of hundreds of millions of dollars in social services funds.
Mr. Trump sharpened his rhetoric last week. In a Cabinet meeting, he described Somali immigrants as “garbage” and claimed they “contribute nothing.”
“I don’t want them in our country,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you.”
Mr. Homan defended the president’s remarks, saying Mr. Trump was referring to “public safety” and “national security threats” from Somalia and other countries.
“He was put in the Oval Office to run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen, and that is exactly what we’re doing,” the border czar said.
Mr. Homan said Mr. Trump is cleaning up the mess he inherited from President Joseph R. Biden, who turned a blind eye to illegal immigration and refused to acknowledge that some countries do not properly vet migrants who move into the United States.
The Trump administration has carried out targeted immigration enforcement efforts in the District of Columbia, New York City, Chicago and Memphis, North Carolina.
Mr. Homan also said the operations are necessary because sanctuary cities refuse to fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
“So President Trump is doing the right thing,” he said.
