Steve Cortes, founder of the League of American Workers, said Rep. Tom Emmer previously formed a Somalia Caucus with a Democrat colleague to address Somali community issues in Minnesota, while now calling for deportations over fraud cases.
Steve Cortes posted on X in response to a statement from Rep. Tom Emmer about deporting Somalis involved in fraud against taxpayers. The post included a screenshot of a 2015 article headline showing Emmer and then-Rep. Keith Ellison joining to create the Congressional Somalia Caucus. This action aimed to highlight Emmer’s earlier support for Somali-related initiatives amid current concerns over assimilation and charity abuse in Minnesota.
According to Minnesota Compass, Minnesota is home to the largest Somali-American population in the U.S., totaling around 79,449 individuals, with 78.1 percent residing in the Twin Cities area. This community experiences a poverty rate of 36.4 percent and a median household income of $43,600, alongside low homeownership at 13.4 percent. Recent federal probes have exposed massive fraud in social services, including billions stolen from COVID-relief and child nutrition programs, often involving Somali-owned entities.
Center for Immigration Studies reported that about 250,000 people of Somali ancestry live in the United States, with Minnesota hosting over 90,000, largely resettled as refugees since the 1990s. In Hennepin County, including Minneapolis, the Somali population totals about 20,533 and faces a 37.5 percent poverty rate with median household income of $43,600. Nationwide, USCIS initiates about 26,000 fraud-related removal proceedings annually, with marriage schemes comprising 41 to 49 percent of investigations.
Steve Cortes is the Founder and President of the League of American Workers and a senior political advisor to CatholicVote. He is a former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance, and a commentator for Fox News and CNN. Cortes regularly releases documentaries and columns at cortesinvestigates.com.