A legal expert tore into the latest effort by the Department of Homeland Security to attack Somali refugees, providing the data that shows their claims are completely false.
The flareup began with a post on X by the official DHS account.
"[U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] is working to implement the most rigorous screening and vetting protocols in agency history," said the post. "The Biden administration recklessly accelerated refugee admissions from terror and gang-infiltrated countries, including Somalia, prioritizing sheer numbers over rigorous vetting and strict adherence to legal requirements. Corrective action is being taken by [Secretary Kristi Noem] to ensure those who are present in the United States deserve to be here."
This is not true, said American Immigration Council fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick.
"What a ridiculous lie. DHS has no shame, especially by throwing Somalians under the bus for no reason but to dog whistle," wrote Reichlin-Melnick. "There was zero 'acceleration' of Somali refugees under Biden. They're making it up and hoping you won't know how to check. Well, I do. Here's the data."
He provided a chart, courtesy of data from the State Department, showing that Somali refugee admissions under the Biden administration never exceeded 5,000 per year — higher than the almost zero under the first Trump administration, but far below the Obama and Bush administrations, when 9,000 or 10,000 per year was a frequent occurrence.
"Here's the same chart, this time showing relative percentage of Somalia refugees among the total number of people admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program," said Reichlin-Melnick, showing data with similar trends. "Again, absolutely no 'acceleration' of admitting Somalia refugees, despite DHS's bigoted claim."
President Donald Trump has escalated his attacks on the Somali community in recent months, targeting both Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024, whose state contains one of America's largest Somali diasporas, and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), herself a childhood refugee from the war-torn East African country.
The anti-Somalian campaign has grown so intense that even one Somali-American who campaigned for Trump last year, Salman Fiqy, has condemned the president for pushing "racist" rhetoric.