After Trump's Insults.. Somali Individuals Arrested in Immigration Crackdown in Minneapolis

SadaNews - Federal officials said on Thursday that individuals of Somali descent were among those arrested in an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, just two days after President Donald Trump hurled insults at immigrants from the East African nation and stated that he wants them to leave the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in its first statement regarding the operation, indicated that arrests in Minneapolis began on Monday. Officials did not provide a total number of those detained, but they identified 12 of the detainees, five of whom were from Somalia, while the others were from Mexico and El Salvador. In the statement, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant to the Secretary of Homeland Security, described them as all dangerous criminals who had been convicted of crimes ranging from fraud and auto theft to sexual misconduct and driving under the influence.

Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized Trump's attacks on the Somali community in the city, and called on Americans on Thursday to "love and respect" the Somali immigrant community in Minnesota, the largest in North America.

Trump's allies praised his racist remarks against Somalis and his attack on Minnesota politicians who defend them. During a government meeting that was broadcast on television on Tuesday, Trump commented on reports of government corruption linked to the residents of Minnesota, referring to the immigrants there as "garbage" and said he wants to send them "back to where they came from."