US President Donald Trump has attacked Somali immigrants, saying they should be unwelcome in the United States.
Mr Trump's remarks come as a scandal unfolds in the state of Minnesota where prosecutors say more than $1 billion went to non-existent social services, largely through false billing by Somali Americans.
In Somalia "they have no anything, they just run around killing each other," Mr Trump told a cabinet meeting.
"Their country's no good for a reason. Their country stinks, and we don't want them in our country," he said.
Mr Trump has a long history of deriding minorities and rose to political prominence spreading false conspiracy theories that former president Barack Obama was born in Kenya rather than the United States.
He has often played up fears of the white majority losing political and cultural power.
"We're at a tipping point," Mr Trump told the cabinet meeting.
"We could go one way or the other, and we're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country."
Mr Trump said that Somali Americans "contribute nothing" and he berated Ilhan Omar, an outspoken Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota who is originally from Somalia.
"Ilhan Omar is garbage. Her friends are garbage," Mr Trump said.
"Let them go back to where they came from and fix it."
Ms Omar later wrote of Mr Trump on X: "His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs."
His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs. https://t.co/pxOpAChHse
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) December 2, 2025
Mr Trump last week ended protections against deportations of Somalis in place in the United States since 1991, when Somalia descended into anarchy.
Prosecutors are investigating several plots to steal taxpayer money in Minnesota, including by groups that falsely claimed to be feeding children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Minnesota, a historically Democratic-leaning state with a history of welcoming refugees, is home to a major Somali American community.
The scandal takes an added political dimension as Minnesota's governor is Tim Walz, a Democrat who was the party's unsuccessful candidate for vice president in last year's election.
In an interview aired on NBC News on Sunday, Mr Walz was asked about Mr Trump's allegations.
He said Minnesota attracts criminals who get prosecuted.
"I will note, it's not just Somalis. Minnesota is a generous state. Minnesota is a prosperous state ... But that attracts criminals. Those people are going to jail," he said.
"But to demonise an entire community on the actions of a few, it's lazy," he added.
St Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, the first Black mayor of his Twin City which is also home to many Somalis, said Mr Trump's attacks on that community were "racist" and "xenophobic".
Citing the opening words to the preamble of the US Constitution - "We the People" - as the phrase that launched the American experience, Mr Carter said "the sacred moments in American history are the moments we’ve had to decide who the 'we' is, who is included."
"Who (Trump) is attacking aren’t just Somalis - they are Somali-Americans," Mr Carter said. "Who he attacked is Americans."
Meanwhile, the Trump administration said it paused all immigration applications, including green card and US citizenship processing, filed by immigrants from 19 non-European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety.
The pause applies to people from 19 countries that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June, placing further restrictions on immigration - a core feature of Mr Trump's political platform.
The list of countries includes Afghanistan and Somalia.
The official memorandum outlining the new policy cites the attack on US National Guard members in Washington last week in which an Afghan man has been arrested as a suspect. One member of the National Guard was killed and another was critically wounded in the shooting.
The list of countries targeted in today's memorandum includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, which were subjected to the most severe immigration restrictions in June, including a full suspension on entries with a few exceptions.
Others on the list of 19 countries, which were subjected to partial restrictions in June, are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The new policy places a hold on pending applications and mandates that all immigrants from the list of countries "undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats."
The memorandum cited several recent crimes suspected to have been committed by immigrants, including the National Guard attack.
Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the organisation had received reports of cancelled oath ceremonies, naturalisation interviews and adjustment of status interviews for individuals from countries listed on the travel ban.
