A woman of Somali descent who is a U.S. citizen was arrested by ICE agents in Minnesota last week. Her cousin revealed on social media that the agents made some threatening and disrespectful remarks towards the woman’s hijab while arresting her. In addition, the cousin also claimed that they touched her in an inappropriate way.
The incident unfolded after the Donald Trump administration targeted the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as part of its immigration crackdown. This also comes after the president himself attacked the state’s Somali population, accusing the community of contributing “nothing” and destroying “our country.” His racist remarks sparked massive backlash.
Somali community leader Omar Jamal was arrested by ICE in Minneapolis. He has a criminal history and a deportation order from 2011
Omar was appointed as the “first secretary of the Somali mission to the United Nations” to represent Somalian interests
Back to Somalia! 👋 pic.twitter.com/TO2vkIR6Eb
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 4, 2025
This led to mass deportation in the state, as well as in blue cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, and New York. The Somali woman who was arrested by ICE agents last week was racially profiled, as claimed by her cousin.
The cousin told Fox 9 that the agents not only made offensive remarks towards her hijab but also tried to touch her inappropriately. “What could you be hiding under your hijab?” they asked the woman, as revealed by her cousin.
According to The Mirror US, the Somali woman was held at the Sherburne County Jail for more than 24 hours. Her husband had to show the authorities her passport card to prove her US citizenship.
According to her, the ICE agents zip-tied the woman and allegedly told her that the hijab she was wearing would not be the “right” clothing with which to try fleeing them. The incident sparked massive backlash.
However, this is not an isolated incident; rather, ICE agents have been accused of terrorizing American citizens ever since the crackdown began after Trump’s takeover. Protests have broken out in several parts of the country, after the masked agents arrested several people whom they believed to be illegal immigrants.
ICE is now targeting illegal Somalians in Minnesolia, (Minnesota.). How much you want to bet every single on is on Welfare, SNAP, and involved in stealing taxpayer dollars to send to Somalia to support terrorism? pic.twitter.com/As4NIj4aV3
— Joyreaper (@joyreaper) December 7, 2025
According to the outlet, during a Cabinet session on Tuesday, the POTUS made several xenophobic comments, specifically targeting the Somali community in Minnesota. “Look how bad their nation is. It’s not even a nation. It’s just people walking around killing each other. Look, these Somalis have taken billions of dollars out of our country. Billions and billions,” the Republican President said during a televised Cabinet meeting.
“Those Somalians should be out of here. They’ve destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain,” he added. The Associated Press reports that ICE agents have arrested many people in Minneapolis, particularly targeting the Somali immigrants who have been living in the United States with proper documentation.
