By Michelle Hackman, Natalie Andrews and Joseph De Avila
WASHINGTON -- U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning a major operation in Minneapolis targeting the city's Somali immigrant community, according to an administration official familiar with the matter, escalating the Trump administration's feud with Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
ICE will send roughly 100 officers and agents from around the U.S. to help with the operation, which is intended primarily to target Somali immigrants with final deportation orders, the administration official said. The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area is home to the largest Somali-American community in the country; most of its members are either citizens, permanent residents or hold other forms of legal status.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that the agency doesn't "discuss future or potential operations."
The New York Times earlier reported on the operation.
The operation expands on President Trump's moves against Somalis in the state. Last month, Trump announced he would revoke Temporary Protected Status -- for Somalis only in Minnesota. TPS is a program that offers deportation protections and work permits to citizens of a country deemed too dangerous to return to, and who typically have no other means of staying in the country legally. But the move only impacts several hundred people.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that her agency had done an investigation and found that half of the visas issued to Somali immigrants in the state were fraudulent, which she said will result in deportations. She didn't specify what types of visas are at issue, though many Somalis move to the U.S. through marriage or other family ties.
Noem, who spoke at a cabinet meeting at the White House, said the Somali visa applicants said they "were some somebody that they're not. Married to somebody who was their brother or somebody else."
"We're going to remove them and we're going to get our money back," she said.
Noem blamed Walz, who she said "brought people in there illegally that never should have been in the country."
Walz posted Tuesday on X: "We welcome support in investigating and prosecuting crime," adding later: "But pulling a PR stunt and indiscriminately targeting immigrants is not a real solution to a problem."
Trump ratcheted up attacks on Walz on Thanksgiving Day, criticizing his intelligence by using a slur in a Truth Social post. In the president's post about the governor, who was former Vice President Kamala Harris's vice presidential running mate in last year's presidential election, Trump said "the refugee burden" was "the leading cause of social dysfunction in America."
He said specifically Somali refugees are "completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota."
Walz said in an interview Sunday with NBC's Kristen Welker on "Meet the Press" that being insulted by Trump was a badge of honor.
The office of Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Write to Michelle Hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com, Natalie Andrews at natalie.andrews@wsj.com and Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 02, 2025 14:27 ET (19:27 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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