The U.S. Must Start Culturally Vetting Prospective Immigrants
Some cultural practices, such as female genital mutilation, are so incompatible with American values that they cannot be allowed to propagate here.
Richard McDaniel | April 8, 2026
When I had a meeting at a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office in Northern Virginia some weeks ago, five FBI agents sat me down and told me that they’re investigating many cases of female genital mutilation (FGM), an abusive cultural practice that is far too common in the U.S. As I am someone who lives in Minneapolis for most of the year, the agents explained that the city is one of the country’s FGM hotspots, especially because of its Somali population. While much of the country is rightly focused on pervasive Somali fraud in Minnesota, FGM has largely gone under the radar. Yet, FGM is a far more sinister issue.
FGM involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs, for non-medical reasons. FGM has no health benefits and gravely harms women’s health and sexual development in the short- and long-term. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies FGM into four major types, with type three—infibulation, or the “narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal”—being the most severe.
FGM is primarily practiced throughout Africa and in select countries across the Middle East and Asia. The highest risk country for FGM is Somalia, where 98 percent of women aged 15 to 49 have undergone the procedure.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/04/the_u_s_must_start_culturally_vetting_prospective_immigrants.html
