WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has issued a stark new threat to deploy immigration agents to major airports to target Somali migrants, escalating a bitter budget battle with Democrats and intensifying his long-standing rhetoric against the East African community.
In a statement posted on his Truth Social platform, the Republican leader warned he would redeploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactical units if his Department of Homeland Security funding demands are not met. He specifically singled out the Somali community for “special emphasis” in what he described as an impending security operation.
“We will move our patriotic ICE agents to the airports, where they will handle security like never before, including the arrest of all illegal aliens… with a special emphasis on those from Somalia,” Trump stated.
The threat comes at a period of high legal tension. Only days ago, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the administration’s plan to deport nearly 1,100 Somalis who were facing imminent removal this month. Despite this judicial setback, the president appears to be doubling down on his efforts to target the community, many of whom sought refuge in the United States to escape conflict.
The state of Minnesota, home to the largest Somali population in the US, has reportedly seen the highest concentration of recent ICE activity. The president has frequently used the region as a focal point for his anti-immigration messaging.
This latest ultimatum follows a pattern of increasingly hostile language. In early December, Trump drew widespread condemnation after labeling Somali immigrants as “garbage” and claiming they “contribute nothing” to the country, while making unsubstantiated allegations of widespread corruption and crime within the community in Minnesota.
The Department of Homeland Security has been without new funding for nearly five weeks, a deadlock that Trump is now linking directly to the fate of thousands of migrants.
