President Donald Trump called for Somali immigrants, including Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, to be thrown out of the United States in a series of inflammatory remarks delivered from the Oval Office on Thursday, December 4, 2025. The comments came a day after the president described Somali immigrants as “garbage” during a Tuesday Cabinet meeting.
While seated behind the Resolute Desk, Trump was informed by a reporter that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey takes pride in the city’s large Somali immigrant community. Before the reporter could finish her question, the president interrupted, calling Frey “a fool.” Trump continued his attack on Somalia itself, saying the nation is “not even a nation” and describing it as “just people walking around killing each other.” He added that Somalis “have destroyed our country.”
The president then specifically targeted Omar, a 43-year-old Democratic congresswoman who has been a frequent recipient of Trump’s criticism since she arrived in Congress in 2019. Trump repeated long-debunked allegations that Omar married her brother, calling it “a fraud” and claiming she “tries to deny it now, but you can’t really deny it because, you know, it just happened.”
Omar’s family fled Somalia’s civil war and sought refuge in Kenya before moving to Minneapolis in 1997. The congresswoman has consistently dismissed the marriage allegations as baseless rumors. Trump’s Thursday remarks escalated further when he declared that Omar “shouldn’t be allowed to be a congresswoman” and that “she should be thrown the hell out of our country.”
The response from Democratic officials and advocacy groups was swift and condemning. According to sources, Omar responded by calling Trump “a racist, a bigot, a xenophobic and Islamaphobic,” adding that his targeting of Black immigrants in the country was not surprising. She emphasized that Minnesota has welcomed the Somali community and they will remain regardless of the president’s statements.
Mayor Frey responded on X by writing that Somali Americans are Americans and their nation is America. He added that Minneapolis is proud to have these Americans in the city. Minnesota Senator Tina Smith also weighed in, writing on X that it’s doubtful Trump could even find Somalia on a map.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations denounced the president’s remarks, issuing a statement comparing the hateful claims made about Somali Americans and Somali immigrants to remarks once made about the Irish, Italians and other communities who endured bigotry while establishing their place in the nation.
Some MAGA commentators amplified Trump’s message, with Laura Loomer writing on X a call to denaturalize Omar. Multiple commenters expressed support for the sentiment, with responses including “Sounds good” and “Send her home.”
The administration’s focus on Somali immigrants extends beyond rhetoric. ICE is expected to deploy agents to Minneapolis to target Somalis with final deportation orders. Minnesota is home to roughly 79,400 Somalis, representing the nation’s largest Somali population. According to official figures, about half of the state’s Somali residents were born outside the United States, while 87 percent of the foreign-born Somali population in the state are naturalized U.S. citizens. The total population of Minnesota stands at approximately 5.7 million people.
The president’s comments reached international audiences as well. During an event on Thursday, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre acknowledged that Somalia is not the only country Trump insults, adding that sometimes it’s better not to respond.
Omar addressed Trump’s rhetoric in a New York Times essay, arguing that the president is resorting to stoking bigotry because he knows he is failing. “The president knows he is failing, and so he is reverting to what he knows best: trying to divert attention by stoking bigotry,” she wrote. The congresswoman, who was stripped of her seat on the foreign affairs committee in 2023, has been outspoken against Trump’s attacks on immigrant communities.
During the Oval Office remarks, Trump stated: “The Somalians should be out of here. They have destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain.” These comments represent a continuation of his long-standing pattern of attacking immigrant communities throughout his political career.
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions surrounding immigration policy and the treatment of refugee communities that have established roots in the United States over multiple decades. The Somali American community in Minnesota has built lives, raised families, and contributed to their adopted home state, making Trump’s demands for mass removal particularly controversial among civil rights advocates and Democratic officials.