adminDonald Trump’s blunt assessment of Ilhan Omar at a recent Cabinet meeting was shocking to some and painfully accurate to many Americans watching the unraveling of our immigration system. The president called Omar “garbage” and excoriated the larger Somali migration to Minnesota, remarks that—love them or hate them—forced the country to reckon with facts and failures that the Left has buried for years.
The internet has only amplified those uncomfortable facts: Somali TikTok videos and on-the-ground reporting reveal clan loyalties and tribal politics seeping into Minneapolis elections, and footage of Omar speaking in Somali—then attacking translators who render her remarks into English—raises basic questions about whom she is really addressing and representing. If a sitting member of Congress talks to a constituency in a language most Americans can’t follow and then lashes out at those who translate, that’s not cultural pride—it’s opacity and favoritism of the worst kind.
Meanwhile, the federal response in Minnesota has escalated, with ICE operations prompting Rep. Omar to accuse agents of racial profiling after she said her son was stopped during enforcement activity. Whatever pain and fear raids cause, Americans also have a right to honest debate about enforcement, fraud, and the rule of law—and elected officials must not weaponize family anecdotes to shield bad actors or smear hardworking citizens who demand accountability.
Let’s be clear: this is not about hating refugees or anyone’s faith or background. It’s about whether our political class will prioritize the nation that sheltered them. Omar’s repeated gestures toward Somalia and her rank-and-file behavior—often framed as identity politics by her defenders—look less like representation and more like a political brand that puts foreign loyalties and grievance politics above American unity.
The fallout is real and local. Reports show clan divisions among Somali Americans shaped the recent Minneapolis mayoral contest and are now being weaponized against fellow Somalis who don’t toe certain lines, proving that importing unresolved foreign conflicts rarely strengthens civic life here at home. Voters who care about assimilation, safety, and common-sense immigration policy should be alarmed that these dynamics are influencing municipal and congressional politics in our cities.
Conservative patriots should not flinch from this fight. We can respect immigrants while demanding they assimilate, obey the law, and join the American project instead of importing factionalism and grievance. It’s time to hold representatives like Ilhan Omar to account at the ballot box and insist on leaders who put America first, not factional foreign interests or performative identity politics.
