The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed at least 12 individuals were taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Minneapolis since December 1.

The list includes five men from Somalia, six from Mexico and one from El Salvador.

Half of the men have been convicted of a crime, according to a release from DHS. The agency also named the recent surge of immigration agents to the Twin Cities as "Operation Metro Surge."

After vowing last month to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in the U.S. without permanent authorization, Trump escalated his attacks with a Thanksgiving Day social media post that claimed "hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota."

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. (no more at link -p)

Somali-American who supported Trump in 2024 election calls president's comments a betrayal, CBS Minnesota, 12/4/25

. . . After threatening to end Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota, Mr. Trump escalated his attack on Somali Minnesotans this week by calling them "garbage."

CBS News is reporting that ICE is now targeting Somali people with final deportation orders in Minneapolis and St. Paul; Mr. Trump did not make that kind of distinction during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, instead stating, "I don't want [Somalis] in our country."

Wednesday, he doubled down, saying, "The Somalians [sic] should be out of here. They've destroyed our country."

. . . In 2024, data from the Minnesota Secretary of State shows that Fiqy (a Somali-American supporter and campaigner for Trump in 2024 -p) was not an anomaly. While Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz won handily in Somali-strong districts, the democratic ticket underperformed compared to President Biden's numbers in 2020. In state house district 60B, for example, Biden won 87.61% of the vote. This dropped to 80.83% in 2024 with Harris at the top of the ticket; meanwhile, Trump's share of the vote rose about five percentage points, going from 9.87% in 2020 to 15.03% in 2024.

. . . Imam Tawakal Ismail, a self-described religious leader in Minnesota, is joining Fiqy in disavowing his connection to the GOP at both the local and national levels.

. . . Of the approximate 80,000 Somali people in Minnesota, Census Bureau figures from 2024 show that about 95% are U.S. citizens. More than half were born in the United States; most Somali-born immigrants entered the country before 2010.