Hold onto your hats, folks—Rep. Ilhan Omar is sounding the alarm over a troubling encounter between her son and ICE agents in Minnesota.
This past weekend, Omar’s U.S.-born son was stopped by federal agents outside a Target store, an incident that has sparked fierce debate over racial profiling amid a broader immigration enforcement surge in the state, Fox News reported.
Let’s rewind to earlier this month when President Donald Trump stirred the pot with sharp criticism of Omar and Somali communities in Minnesota, calling her “very bad for our country” as reported to journalists.
Fast forward to Friday, when ICE announced a sweeping operation called Metro Surge, nabbing over 400 unauthorized migrants in Minnesota, with the agency claiming the focus was on serious offenders like violent criminals.
Trump doubled down that day, defending ICE’s actions in the state while continuing his verbal barrage against Omar and certain migrant groups, which many see as fanning the flames of division.
Then came Saturday, when Omar’s son found himself in ICE’s crosshairs during a routine stop at a store, only released after flashing his passport to prove his citizenship.
Omar didn’t hold back, accusing ICE of targeting “young men who look Somali,” as she told WCCO-TV in an interview the following day.
That’s a serious charge, and while concerns about profiling deserve a fair hearing, one has to wonder if every stop is a conspiracy or if enforcement is just doing its tough, thankless job.
Omar also revealed her son carries his passport out of fear of being mistaken for an unauthorized migrant, a precaution that speaks volumes about the tension in some communities right now.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz jumped into the fray, backing Omar’s claims by stating, “This isn’t a targeted operation to find violent criminals, it’s racial profiling,” in a pointed critique of ICE’s methods.
Walz’s take raises eyebrows—sure, profiling is a real concern, but dismissing an operation that netted hundreds of lawbreakers as mere bias seems a tad convenient for the progressive playbook.
Walz also noted that Omar’s son was fully compliant during the stop, and he’s penned a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding a rethink of these enforcement tactics after reports of U.S. citizens being detained.
The Department of Homeland Security isn’t taking this lying down, with spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin asserting that only Americans “who assault and obstruct law enforcement have been arrested” in response to Walz’s concerns.
That’s a stark rebuttal, suggesting the feds aren’t randomly harassing folks but reacting to specific behavior—though the optics of stopping citizens going about their day still stinks of overreach to many.
Walz’s letter also flagged broader issues, pointing to eroded trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities, alongside worries about due process violations during these high-profile sweeps.
