Minneapolis–St Paul (Twin Cities), Minnesota, USA

Who lives there

Largest Somali community in the US. About 108,000 Somalis in Minnesota out of about 259,000 in the US (ACS 2024; margin of 10,000 to 20,000) (News From The States / Minnesota Reformer). About 33,500 in Minneapolis city itself (FOX 9). Most are citizens: only about 4,200 of 80,000+ were non-citizens in Census data, many of them green-card holders (Sahan Journal). US-born share rose from 19% (2001) to nearly 39% (2023) (News From The States). Hub: Cedar-Riverside ("Little Mogadishu") (The Nation); also Somali malls such as Somali 24 Mall (Sahan Journal). About 1,100 Somalis nationally held TPS, 1,400 more pending (Minnesota Lawyer).

Work and money

Early arrivals worked in meatpacking; now health, education, finance, small shops and restaurants; many mall shop owners are older women who barely cover rent (Twin Cities Business, 2017). Somali-headed households: median income about $33,500, 12% own homes, over half housing cost-burdened (2017–21) (MN Compass). Remittances: Somali Americans sent $1.73 billion in 2023, about 16.5% of Somalia's GDP; typical sender sends $450–500 a month (Minnesota Reformer).

Who serves the community

City of Minneapolis (Mayor Jacob Frey), City of St Paul, Hennepin and Ramsey counties, State of Minnesota. Somali-American officials include Rep. Ilhan Omar (US House), State Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, State Sen. Omar Fateh, State Rep. Mohamud Noor, Council Member Jamal Osman (Sahan Journal). Community groups: Pillsbury United Communities / Brian Coyle Center, CAIR-MN, MIRAC, Legal Aid, mosques (Sahan Journal; Spokesman-Recorder). No armed groups.

What the community faces now

• Dec 2025–Feb 2026: Operation Metro Surge, about 3,000 federal agents, about 4,000 arrests, three people shot and two killed; framed as targeting Somalis. Wind-down announced 12 Feb 2026, though ICE activity continued (News From The States).
• Shops in Cedar-Riverside lost customers or closed early; weddings postponed, daycares closed (Spokesman-Recorder; The Nation).
• 13 Jan 2026: TPS for Somalia ended, effective 17 Mar 2026 (Minnesota Lawyer).
• Sending money home got harder: 1% federal remittance tax from 1 Jan 2026; FinCEN order (effective 12 Feb 2026, to 10 Aug 2026, extendable) makes Hennepin/Ramsey transfer firms report sends of $3,000+ (Minnesota Reformer).

Top needs (for the mission at home):

1. Clean, documented, legal channels for money home, now under scrutiny.
2. Trust: a public record that Somali money does good, to counter fraud and terror smears.
3. Remote paid work for people in Somalia, using diaspora skills and firms.
4. A counted, organised diaspora (skills, voice) after a frightening year.
5. Somalia's story and dead remembered by a US-born generation (39%).