One day before a federal agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, federal immigration officers described their presence in Minnesota as the “largest operation to date.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement effort there is part of a broader immigration crackdown that has swept cities across the country since President Trump began his second term with a pledge to deport millions of people.
The actions in Minnesota have targeted undocumented immigrants, as in other cities, but focused on Somalis in particular. The state is home to the largest diaspora of Somalis in the world. Roughly 80,000 people of Somali ancestry reside there, but the vast majority of them are American citizens or legal permanent residents.
Federal authorities said this week they would increase their presence in the Minneapolis region, with about 2,000 federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security expected to participate.
“If you’re a criminal illegal alien and/or you are engaged in fraud, expect a visit from ICE,” the agency said Tuesday in a post on X.
The original immigration enforcement operation, which began in early December, focused on Somalis with final deportation orders. That group had become a particular focus for Mr. Trump, who has railed against a federal fraud scheme that has implicated a pocket of Somali Americans in Minnesota.
More than 90 people have been charged with felonies in the federal fraud cases, which center on what prosecutors say was a misuse of funds allocated for the state’s social safety net programs. Dozens have been convicted. Most of the people prosecuted are of Somali origin. They have been accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars by billing the government for services, like child care and health care, that went undelivered.
Pooja Salhotra covers breaking news across the United States.
The post The ICE Shooting Came During an Operation Focused on Somali Immigrants appeared first on New York Times.
