ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Recent statements by President Donald Trump and top administration officials disparaging Minnesota’s large Somali community have focused renewed attention on the immigrants from the war-torn east African country and their descendants.
Trump on Tuesday said he did not want Somalis in the U.S. because “they contribute nothing.” The president spoke soon after a person familiar with the planning said federal authorities are preparing a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota that would primarily focus on Somali immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S.
An estimated 260,000 people of Somali descent were living in the U.S. in 2024, according to the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. Approximately 107,000 people of Somali descent called Minnesota home last year. They represented about 2% of the Gopher State’s 2024 total population.
The state’s largest Somali population is in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, home to about 84,000 residents, most of whom are American citizens. Most—close to 50,000—reside in Hennepin County, home to Minneapolis.
The 2024 Census Bureau report does not include a count for Rochester’s Somali population. However, in 2020, it was about 4,000 people, according to the state demographer.
Almost 58% of the Somalis in Minnesota were born in the U.S. Of the foreign-born Somalis in Minnesota, an overwhelming majority—87%— are naturalized U.S. citizens. Of the foreign-born population, almost half entered the U.S. in 2010 or later, according to the Census Bureau.
They include many who fled the long civil war in their east African country and were drawn to the state’s welcoming social programs.
Last month, Trump said he was terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somali migrants in Minnesota, a legal safeguard against deportation. A report produced for Congress in August put the number of Somalis covered by the program at just 705 nationwide.
Ohio, Washington and California also have Somali significant populations.
https://www.kttc.com/2025/12/04/by-numbers-minnesotas-somali-population-according-census-data/
