By Heather Schlitz and Andrew Hay
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec 4 (REUTERS) – – People of Somali origin are among those arrested in an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, federal officials said on Thursday, two days after President Donald Trump hurled insults at immigrants from the Horn of Africa country and said he wanted them out of the United States.
The Minneapolis arrests began on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security said in its first statement on the operation. Officials did not give a total arrest figure but gave profiles of 12 people apprehended, five of them from Somalia, the rest from Mexico and El Salvador.
In the statement, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin portrayed them all as dangerous criminals with convictions ranging from fraud and vehicle theft to criminal sexual conduct and driving under the influence.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, has strongly criticized Trump’s attacks on the city’s Somali population and on Thursday called on Americans to “love and respect” Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community, which is the largest in North America.
Trump’s racist rhetoric against Somalis, and attacks on Minnesota politicians who defend them, has been applauded by his allies. On Tuesday, during a televised cabinet meeting, he reacted to reports of government fraud among pockets of Minnesota’s large Somali population by calling immigrants there “garbage” and saying he wanted them sent “back to where they came from.”
Anti-immigration rhetoric was a major part of Trump’s campaign. Since taking office in January he has overseen aggressive operations by masked federal agents across the country in a bid to drive deportations to record levels. Along the way, Trump’s public language when speaking about immigrants has grown harsher.
CRACKDOWN IN NEW ORLEANS
Also on Thursday, federal officials said they had arrested dozens of people in New Orleans, another Democratic-run city.
On day two of the New Orleans operation, protesters disrupted a city council meeting to demand councillors declare city property “ICE Free” zones where federal immigration agents could not stage operations.
Protesters accused federal agents of indiscriminately targeting people of color, including U.S. citizens, with no criminal record, an allegation the Department of Homeland Security denies.
New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno said in a statement on Wednesday the operation had created a culture of fear among the city’s most vulnerable residents.
“We must do what we can to protect New Orleans and ensure due process is followed for all of our residents,” she said, announcing an online portal for citizens to report abuse from federal immigration officers.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, has supported federal immigration enforcement efforts.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Donna Bryson and Stephen Coates)
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