Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former refugee from Somalia, argues that the United States must insist on full cultural assimilation for new immigrants, warning that importing “clannish” loyalty from societies built on “amoral familism” undermines national unity and civic cohesion.
Hirsi Ali recalls growing up in a Somali clan‑based society where loyalty to one’s family trumped loyalty to the nation. Under that system, resources and social benefits go to one’s clan — not based on fairness or shared citizenship — destroying the logic of civic solidarity. She warns that this mindset doomed Somalia and afflicts other regions such as parts of Africa, Haiti, and Afghanistan.
Applying that lesson to America, she points to recent cases of welfare abuse and fraud, including alleged mass misuse of social‑assistance programs in Minnesota’s immigrant communities. Hirsi Ali claims these outcomes reflect not individual failings, but structural problems rooted in cultural values that differ sharply from America’s tradition of personal responsibility, equal citizenship, and limited government.
Hirsi Ali further argues that many progressive policymakers don’t just tolerate these differences — they actively encourage them. She says they view immigration as an economic fix, but ignore how importing incompatible values can burden taxpayers, weaken social trust, and undermine local institutions.
She warns that America is suffering under what she calls an “experiment” in mass migration. She quotes a former U.S. president: a society built on diverse beliefs and national values — protected under the Constitution and Bill of Rights — was expected to forge unity. But according to Hirsi Ali, the experiment is failing, not least because many immigrants resist assimilation.
She cites as evidence local political decisions, including the election of a Muslim mayor in New York and the continued inflow of H‑1B workers under Indian‑led tech companies. She also references statements by state leaders like Minnesota Governor Tim Walz — who, after scandals involving welfare fraud, promised to “welcome more” immigrants — suggesting that such policies double down on cultural conflict rather than demand assimilation.
Hirsi Ali insists that Americans must choose: either insist on assimilation and preservation of civic culture, or risk fragmentation. She argues that if places like Minnesota want to remain Minnesota, communities must uphold shared values rooted in individual responsibility, equality under the law, civic solidarity, and moral restraint — not clan‑based patronage disguised as cultural tolerance.
If the nation fails to reassert those values, she foresees America facing deep and irreparable fractures that mirror the breakdown witnessed in failed states.
