American Citizens Among Primary Enforcement Concerns

The impact on American citizens has become a primary concern for Minneapolis officials warning about federal immigration enforcement. City leaders emphasize that citizens will be detained and have their rights violated during operations officially targeting non-citizens.
Federal immigration authorities are preparing to deploy approximately 100 agents for enforcement operations in the metropolitan area. While these operations officially focus on individuals with deportation orders, city officials warn that citizens will inevitably be affected.
Presidential rhetoric has characterized Somali immigrants broadly without distinguishing citizens from non-citizens. During a cabinet meeting, the administration’s leader expressed desires to remove Somali immigrants from America, with language that did not acknowledge citizenship status.
Minneapolis is home to tens of thousands of Somali American citizens who share ethnic characteristics with enforcement targets. City officials warn that appearance-based enforcement methods will result in wrongful detention of citizens based solely on looking Somali.
Local leaders have made citizen protection a central argument against federal enforcement. The mayor explicitly stated that American citizens will be detained for no reason other than appearing Somali, emphasizing that citizenship provides insufficient protection when enforcement relies on appearance-based identification.