Press Conference Organized to Address “Credible Reports”

Minneapolis city officials characterized intelligence about federal immigration enforcement operations as “credible reports” warranting an official public response. The assessment that threats to the community were sufficiently reliable prompted the organization of a press conference featuring the mayor and police chief.
The credible reports describe plans to deploy approximately 100 federal immigration agents to the metropolitan area for coordinated enforcement operations. These actions would focus primarily on Somali nationals with deportation orders, targeting the city’s substantial Somali population.
Federal enforcement plans coincide with presidential rhetoric characterizing Somali immigrants in inflammatory terms. During a cabinet meeting, the administration’s leader expressed desires to remove Somalis from America and personally attacked a congressional representative of Somali heritage.
City officials used the press conference to send direct messages of support to the Somali community while clarifying local policies. The mayor emphasized that the city’s commitment to Somali residents is “rock solid,” while the police chief explained that the department does not assist with immigration enforcement.
Minneapolis is home to approximately 80,000 Somali residents, most of whom are American citizens or legal residents. Local leaders warned that federal enforcement operations would inevitably result in constitutional violations and wrongful detention of people who have every legal right to be in the country.