Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey celebrated Somali Independence Day over the weekend.
“Happy Somali Independence Day! Here in Minnesota, home to one of the largest Somali communities in the United States, we celebrate the resilience, culture, and leadership that continue to enrich our city and community,” he wrote on X.
“Through the most difficult of times and through Operation Metro surge, we all saw that they tried to come for some of us,” Frey told a crowd. “And when that happens, we say that you’re coming for all of us.”
“In Minneapolis, we loved our neighbors. In Minneapolis, we do not see you as immigrants. We see you as our family,” he added. “You are our brothers. You’re our sisters. You have done so much for this incredible city, and for that, we stand with you.”
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota Penny Flannigan similarly wrote on social media, “It was great to join the Somali community today at the Somali Independence Day Festival! Somali Minnesotans are a part of the fabric of our beautiful state. Trump’s hate has no home here, and we’re going to continue standing up for ALL of our neighbors.”
Earlier this year, several individuals pleaded guilty to a fraud scheme in Minnesota. “Ikram Yusuf Mohamed, Aisha Hassan Hussein, Sahra Sharif Osman, Shakur Abdinur Abdisalam, and Fadumo Mohamed Yusuf all pleaded guilty to wire fraud for their respective roles in the sprawling Feeding Our Future fraud scheme,” the DOJ announced in March.
In another case, Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, the CEO of an alleged autism center serving Minnesota’s Somali community, pleaded guilty in a Minnesota fraud scheme.
