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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said that her U.S.-born son was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota on Saturday, raising concerns about “racial profiling” as federal authorities ramp up immigration enforcement across the state.
Omar said her son was stopped outside a Target store and released after showing his passport, an encounter that came just days after President Donald Trump defended ICE operations in Minnesota.
“Yesterday after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by ICE agents and once he was able to produce his passport ID they did let him go,” Omar said Sunday during an interview on WCCO-TV, CBS’s Minnesota station.
Omar told the station that her son routinely carries his passport because he fears being mistaken for an illegal immigrant.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said that her U.S.-born son was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota on Dec. 13. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I had to remind him just how worried I am because all of these areas they’re talking about are areas where he can possibly find himself in and they are racially profiling,” she said, adding that ICE is “looking for young men who look Somali.”
Minnesota Gov. Walz reacted to the incident on X, writing that Omar’s son was pulled over even though he was following the law.
“This isn’t a targeted operation to find violent criminals, it’s racial profiling,” he wrote.
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Tim Walz called on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “reassess” her enforcement strategy after he said multiple U.S. citizens have been arrested during federal immigration operations across Minnesota. (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images)
The Minnesota representative’s comments came after ICE announced on Friday it has arrested more than 400 illegal immigrants as part of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, including “pedophiles, rapists and violent thugs.”
President Donald Trump also told reporters Friday that Omar is “very bad for our country.”
The president called Omar and a bloc of Somali migrants in Minnesota “garbage” during a cabinet meeting earlier this month, adding that Somalia “is barely a country, where they run around killing each other.”
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ICE announced on Dec. 12 that it has arrested more than 400 illegal immigrants as part of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images / (Photo by Jamie Kelter Davis/Getty Images))
“When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but b—- — we don’t want them in our country. Let ’em go back to where they came from and fix it,” Trump said.
Last week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem asking her to “reassess” her enforcement strategy, stating that multiple U.S. citizens have been arrested by ICE agents across the state.
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President Donald Trump also told reporters on Dec. 12 that Rep. Omar is “very bad for our country.” (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Reports indicate that some citizens were documenting federal activity, while others were going about their daily lives,” he wrote.
“This troubling pattern raised serious questions, not only about due process and the rights of U.S. citizens, but also about trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities,” he added.
In response to the letter, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that Americans “who assault and obstruct law enforcement have been arrested.” she said.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said her son was pulled over by ICE on Dec. 13. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
