New ICE Operation Is Said to Target Somali Migrants in Twin Cities

Source: New York Times

Dec. 2, 2025 Updated 2:09 p.m. ET


The Trump administration is launching an intensive immigration enforcement operation primarily targeting hundreds of undocumented Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, according to an official with knowledge of the operation and documents obtained by The New York Times.

The move comes as President Trump has fixated on Somalis living in the United States, using increasingly inflammatory language to attack them. He stepped up his rhetoric in the wake of last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, even though the man suspected in the attack is an Afghan national.

The directive for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., came immediately after Mr. Trump’s remarks. The effort, which is beginning this week, focuses largely on Somalis with final deportation orders who are living in the Twin Cities, though the official said that others who are still seeking legal status could be swept up as well. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing operation.

The plan calls for the deployment of so-called strike teams, which are made up of ICE officers, agents and other federal officials. Roughly 100 officers and agents from around the country have been brought in for the operation, the official said. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, said in a statement that the agency does not discuss “future or potential operations.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/politics/ice-somali-migrants-minneapolis-st-paul.html