Written by Lyle Weems, Staff Writer
The eyes of deportation have shifted to a new victim in America, the Somali population of Minnesota.
The Trump administration has made a decisive choice to end deportation protection for the Somali people in America and begin the process of expulsion. Of the 80,000 people in Minnesota of Somali descent, over 2,400 of those individuals reside in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program (a program that aims to help migrants find refuge from unsafe conditions in the home country) while the rest are citizens or legal permanent residents of the U.S. This program in its help to the Somali immigrants is to end on March 17, decades after its initial authorization in 1991 due to the Somali Civil War. While these programs are meant to aid during times of threat and naturally disappear with the end of the struggle, Somalia is still currently facing conflict and famine. In fact the United Nations found that over half the population of Somalia is in need of aid in the form of food, water, and medicine.
The justification for this removal is a conglomeration of half-truths and confusion. Homeland Security officials claim that the threat in Somalia has lessened, and thus the immigrants are here without right. The issue also lies in the lack of loyalty to the United States that these individuals possess. As refugees, the Trump administration unjustly assumes that the Somali nationals may become a threat to the safety of American citizens and work to harm America. This is an unsupported belief grounded in racism. In fact, the current administration has removed TPS for many ethnic groups recently in an effort to excuse deportation. These targeted locations include countries such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Venezuela, and many more, all of which are known to still be in a state of instability.
Another factor to this targeted effort lies in the republican desire to weaken Minnesota, a staunch democratic state. A supposed misuse of government funds for children education, which would lead Governor Tim Walz to end his reelection campaign, was unfoundedly blamed on Somali run daycare centers. A conspiracy theory video blaming these daycares for stealing money from low income families to send back to the mother nation was posted by a noncredible conservative citizen and then blown up with the combined effort of J.D. Vance and Elon Musk. This has led to a huge investigation proving the existence of fraud, but not a direct correlation to the Somalians. However, the conservative party has focused on the corruption of governer Walz and the Somali relations hoping to spread false information, garner support for deportation, and a weaken the hold the democrats have on Minnesota.
Fear also exists within republican citizens of Minnesota that the Somali population is violent and a threat to national safety due to fighting between Somali students in schools. However, these immigrants have come to America for refuge and often have very little to support themselves; these people are at a disadvantage on their entrance to the unfamiliar environment that is the U.S., and having to face racism from those surrounding them certainly makes their life harder. Due to the poverty and discrimination present, it is no surprise then that those suffering will retaliate-often in a violent way. When trapped in an unwelcoming environment, fights between afflicted children is unavoidable. In relation to the amount of white kids fighting, there is no significant difference at all.
Despite the fact that many of these Somalis sit on the waiting list for American citizenship and have been through extensive screening, the Department of Homeland Security has dispatched around 3,000 agents to Minnesota to target and deport immigrants. The Trump administration is using force in an effort to intimidate both the immigrant population and the protesters seen in Minnesota, mainly Minneapolis, who actively oppose ICE’s actions. This drastic escalation of government orders has led to the murder of Renee Good, a protester in Minneapolis, and the injury of countless individuals and communities throughout the nation. ICE violence is becoming extremely common, and tensions on both sides are reaching a breaking point. Even at this moment Trump threatens more drastic action under the cover of misinformation and racism. Violence is to become all the more common in our near future, and the Somali’s in our walls are going to be the ones to suffer the most.