Minneapolis Mayor Says American Citizens Are at Risk After ICE Arrests Somali Man

The tension between the Trump administration and the Somali community has been simmering since Donald Trump started attacking Rep. Ilhan Omar last month. He also stated that Somali gangs are “terrorizing” the “great state” of Minnesota. This week, the situation officially reached its boiling point after ICE agents arrested an American citizen in Minneapolis simply for looking Somali. Now, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is speaking up for justice.

As we previously reported, the incident of a Black man in Minneapolis being wrongfully detained by ICE agents because he appeared Somali went viral on social media this week. Twenty-year-old Mubashir was on his lunch break when a masked ICE agent tackled him to the ground.

Mubashir moved to the United States from Somalia as a child and has since been naturalized as a citizen, according to The Independent. However, even though Mubashir offered to show ICE agents his passport and stated that he was an American citizen, they ignored him.

In response to the wrongful arrest, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey held a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 9, to stand up for Mubashir and the community of Somali immigrants in America.

“Mubashir, an American citizen, someone who has been here nearly his entire life, tackled, handcuffed, and taken into custody for no reason at all, in clear violation of the law and the Constitution of the United States, for simply walking down the street and looking like he is Somali,” Frey said, according to Fox 9 Minneapolis news.

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stood with 20-year-old U.S. citizen Mobashir on Tuesday to address his forceful detention by ICE agents in Cedar-Riverside. Reports state that agents tackled and placed Mobashir in a chokehold before transporting him to a detention center in Bloomington, despite his legal status. Upon his eventual release, Mobashir was allegedly denied transportation and told to walk back to Minneapolis.

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Frey then added that this incident should make everybody in America livid, and folks should be speaking out for justice.

“This should make every single person in America, whether you are a democrat or a Republican, livid. For those that believe in the work of the founding fathers, for those that believe in the maintenance and endurance of our republic, for those that want to stand up for justice, now is the time to be speaking out.”

He also told listeners that Mubashir’s arrest should be seen as a sign that all American citizens are at risk of being in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

“I’ve got one basic question for everybody who’s watching, and I’m looking for one basic answer. Are you an American citizen? If you are an American citizen, you yourself may be in the crosshairs of this administration, because in that sense you’re no different than Mubashir.”

On TikTok, Mayor Jacob Frey’s speech left users upset with Mubashir’s treatment and called out ICE agents for racial profiling.

“They don’t care about citizenship. They’re only looking for color at this point,” wrote one user.

“Just horrible. As a veteran and someone who retired from the federal civil service, I’m ashamed of our government, our lack of leadership in this country,” wrote another.

“They’re ignoring citizenship entirely; all they see now is skin color,” added another.