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President Trump’s blunt words about Somalia last week set off the predictable outrage from the coastal elites, but put plainly: America has every right to point to failed states when making immigration and national-security decisions. The president called attention to the lawlessness and dysfunction that have long plagued Somalia, and his remarks ignited a fierce debate about how we vet newcomers from places with enduring instability.
Those comments have had real consequences on the ground in cities like Minneapolis, where a large Somali-American community lives and works, and where many residents now report fear and uncertainty as federal enforcement ramps up. Local businesses and everyday families are being pressured by headlines and policy moves that flow directly from the administration’s tougher stance on immigration from certain countries.
On social media young Somalis have pushed back with TikToks and memes, and of course some of the footage is earnest while a lot of it is laughably defensive propaganda. Americans should expect diaspora communities to defend their honor, but mockery and PR stunts don’t change the hard facts about governance, corruption, and security that keep countries like Somalia near the bottom of every stability index.
Conservative thinkers who study the Horn of Africa have long warned that clan-based loyalties and the absence of functioning institutions make Somalia a case study in state failure rather than a model for open-border immigration. Voices like Ayaan Hirsi Ali have argued for vigorous assimilation and skepticism about importing systems that don’t cultivate loyalty to the nation-state and the rule of law. That’s not xenophobia — it’s realism about culture, governance, and what actually produces flourishing societies.
Republicans are right to point out the hypocrisy of progressive defenders who simultaneously celebrate open borders while excusing the harms that come from admitting people from failed or violently factionalized states without rigorous vetting. Remember the outrage over Ilhan Omar’s rhetoric and the conversations that followed about who benefits from immigration policy; this isn’t personal, it’s about policy coherence and national interest. Conservatives won’t apologize for insisting on immigration rules that put Americans’ safety and prosperity first.
That said, the information ecosystem is messy: foreign actors and influence operations have flooded platforms with coordinated messaging about Somalia, sometimes posing as native voices to shift public opinion. This should make every patriot skeptical of viral TikToks and remind us that social-media spectacle is a poor substitute for sober policy debate and secure borders. We should be defending truth and community integrity, not amplifying anonymous online propaganda.
The remedy is straightforward and patriotic: enforce border laws, pause admissions from countries that can’t prove basic governance, and demand assimilation as a condition of long-term residency. Americans can love immigrants while refusing to be naïve about the dangers of admitting people from places that have no functioning institutions — and we should expect our leaders to choose the safety of the republic first.
