Minnesota has had trouble with gang violence and child sex trafficking connected to some Somali refugees, even while Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) pushed for more resettled there.
In 2019, Walz — now Harris’ running mate this year — asked the Trump administration to send more refugees to Minnesota, which has by far had a higher per capita refugee rate than any other state in America.
The request was made in response to problems with Somali refugees, a large and rapidly growing group of people in the state.
“Minnesota has a strong moral tradition of welcoming those who seek refuge. Our state has always stepped forward to help those who are fleeing desperate situations and need a safe place to call home,” Walz wrote in a letter to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “I offer my consent to continue refugee resettlement in the State of Minnesota.”
The appeal comes after a policy under former President Donald Trump that allowed states and localities to refuse increased refugee resettlement. As the vice-presidential choice of Harris, Walz — a strong proponent for Minnesota to become a sanctuary state — has long held positions on immigration garnering growing scrutiny.
“Refugees strengthen our communities. Bringing new cultures and fresh perspectives, they contribute to the social fabric of our state,” Walz said in his letter to Pompeo.
But the introduction of Somali refugees came with challenges. For better than a decade, Somali refugees in Minneapolis have created street gangs to defend their respective clans which is the same thing that helped fuel civil war back home. These gangs have targeted rival activists and staged violent confrontations.
In response, the Minneapolis Police Department in 2008 established a Somali Liaison position to assist with this increase of violence.
In 2012, a Somalian trafficking ring involving Somalian immigrants was uncovered in Minneapolis, St. Paul.
Meanwhile, the violence amongst Minnesota’s Somali gang bangers has subsequently flourished in places like Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood – which sometimes goes by “Little Mogadishu” due to it being home base missionaries masquerading as journalists.
Violent crimes in 2018 rose by 56%, an increase that has been blamed on Somali gangs.
Under Walz, Somali migrants in Minnesota used $250 million meant to feed poor children as part of a coronavirus relief program on an unprecedented fraud scale. Around 50 defendants were part of a conspiracy to establish the fictitious organization “Feeding Our Future” and related entities. They have so far recovered only $50 million of the stolen funds.
In 2023, Somalis will be the largest refugee population in Minnesota. The state has been projected to receive 1,500 refugees resettling in the state by fiscal year 2024. Minnesota has 69,000 Somali residents as of 2019 — roughly a third to nearly half the U.S. total depending on the estimate source (and likely “some” percent are not here legally) with over 13,000 Somalis resettled in MN between ’05 and’18 alone
A growing number of Americans support united deportation, and fewer want immigrants to come than in two years.
