The federal government has ramped up a sweeping campaign targeting the Somali-American community and the nation of Somalia through military force, immigration enforcement, and federal investigations. President Donald Trump’s second-term policies have combined hundreds of airstrikes overseas with aggressive domestic enforcement actions, including an investigation into Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar aimed at stripping her of U.S. citizenship.
Homeland Security agents raided Representative Omar’s Washington, D.C., home last Monday, three weeks before midterm elections in which she is seeking reelection. The investigation seeks to build a case to denaturalize and deport Omar, who fled war in Somalia as a child, immigrated as a refugee, and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. Federal prosecutors reportedly obtained Omar’s DNA as part of the inquiry, and authorities have issued more than a dozen subpoenas, including to some of her relatives. Border czar Tom Homan stated that officials believe they have a strong case regarding the naturalization process.
When asked about the raid, Trump denied ordering it, telling reporters it was a matter for the Justice Department while adding that he considers her a terrible person. Omar described the investigation as an escalation of a decade-long campaign of political intimidation and an attempt to weaponize federal law enforcement against political opponents.
State and community leaders have strongly condemned the administration’s posture. Zaynab Mohamed, a Minnesota state senator and the first Somali woman elected to the legislative body, compared the actions to dictatorial tactics. Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, noted that the community faces a unique intersection of Islamophobic, racist, and xenophobic rhetoric that has largely escaped mainstream backlash.
Abroad, U.S. military operations in Somalia have expanded significantly. During Trump’s time in office, the U.S. military has launched more than 400 attacks against purported militants, conducting over 200 airstrikes during his second term alone, including close to 90 this year. These figures outpace operations conducted under prior administrations, such as George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden combined.
While the military maintains its strikes target designated terror groups in coordination with local partners, monitoring groups and researchers dispute the casualty figures. The U.S. claims to have killed only six civilians over two decades of conflict in Somalia, whereas monitoring group Airwars estimates civilian casualties are significantly higher. Analyses by organizations such as New America indicate that militant leaders comprise a small fraction of those killed in strikes.
Domestically, the administration terminated Somalia’s Temporary Protected Status designation earlier this year, leading to more than 1,000 deportation orders for Somali asylum-seekers since February. More than half of those orders involve residents in Minnesota, representing a nearly tenfold increase from the previous year. The Minneapolis–St. Paul area is home to approximately 84,000 people of Somali descent, the vast majority of whom are American citizens or naturalized residents.
Tensions also flared during a sweeping immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis area during late 2025 and early 2026, known as Operation Metro Surge, during which federal agents shot and killed protesters Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested hundreds of Somali individuals, amid reports of mistreatment.
Administration officials have frequently linked the broader Somali community to domestic controversies, including a pandemic-era fraud case involving child nutrition funds. Meanwhile, local leaders warn that heated rhetoric from the executive branch encourages public hostility and vigilantism, creating an increasingly perilous environment for Somali-Americans across the country.
