Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke on Saturday condemned what she described as President Donald Trump’s ‘racist attack’ on Somalia-born Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Somali immigrants in Minnesota.
‘Between falling asleep in his own Cabinet meeting, President Trump somehow finds the time to launch hateful attacks against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Somali immigrants in Minnesota,’ Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
‘If only President Trump put half as much energy into governing as he does into catching a nap and spreading hate, our country would be much better off,’ added Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
‘Rather than focusing on lowering the cost of living for hardworking American families, ensuring that all Americans have access to quality and affordable healthcare, and bringing our country together, President Trump has once again turned to the same racist and ignorant strategy of targeting Black and immigrant communities to distract from his enormous failures and historically low poll numbers on health care and the economy,’ she continued.
‘From the recently leaked texts of Republican officials using the n-word and praising Hitler to President Trump’s comments in the Cabinet Room, it’s beyond clear that the Republican Party’s racism truly knows no bounds,’ she said. ‘To be clear, since coming to Congress in 2019, Congresswoman Omar has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of her constituents. She-nor any member of Congress, or any community-deserves to be targeted by the president this way.
In an email message to her constituents on Friday, the Minnesota Congresswoman acknowledged that: ‘This week has been tough for a lot of people in our community.
‘The Trump administration’s policies are targeting Somalis in Minnesota and across the country, trying to end Temporary Protected Status and sending ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents into our neighborhoods,’ she added. ‘The policies that sent ICE into Minnesota is meant to scare people and make immigrants feel like they do not belong here.
‘It is painful to see that the president’s policies are focused on punishing and blaming people who are simply trying to work, raise their kids, and be part of their community,’ Omar continued. ‘But the truth is that Somalis are part of the fabric of this state. We are business owners, working professionals, parents, students, and neighbors.
‘We help build our economy and make Minnesota a better, more vibrant place to live,’ she said. ‘Minnesota is our home, and we are not going anywhere.’
Caribbean immigration advocates and Clarke have strongly condemned the Trump administration’s immediate, indefinite ‘administrative hold’ on all processing of immigration paperwork by immigrants from 19 countries, including Somalia and Haiti, which it placed under a travel ban in June 2025.
Besides those two countries, the other 17 non-European countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
All 19 countries, which have either partial or full travel restrictions, have been deemed of concern to the administration.
The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, said the pause suspends green card applications and US citizenship requests, prevents refugees and some others from getting or renewing work authorization, and stops individuals from getting protection for torture and persecution by indefinitely pausing asylum applications.