Trump's scandalous words about migrants: We let in garbage, and Somalia stinks

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he does not want Somali immigrants in the United States, adding that they contribute nothing and their country “stinks”. He commented on reports of mass extortion of public money by Somali immigrants in Minnesota.

– I heard that the Somalis have defrauded this country of billions of dollars, billions every year, billions of dollars. And they contribute nothing. About 88 percent is on benefits. I don't want them in our country, Trump said during Tuesday's cabinet meeting at the White House.

I'll be honest with you, okay? Someone will say, “Oh, that's politically incorrect.” I don't care. I don't want them in our country. Their country is not good for good reasons. Their country stinks and we don't want them in our country, he added. He noted that the same could be said about other countries. The president did not mention them by name.

As he stated, the country will be heading down the wrong path if it 'continues to let in garbage'.

– Ilhan Omar (left-wing congresswoman from Somalia – PAP) is garbage. Her friends are garbage. These are not people who work. These are not people who say: let's go, let's go, let's make this place great. These are people who do nothing but complain – he said.

Trump referred in this way to the discovery of multi-million-dollar fraud and extortion of social benefits by entities associated with Somali immigrants in Minnesota.. Although the case has been known for years, it recently gained notoriety thanks to articles in the New York Times and the right-wing press. So far, charges have been filed in cases totaling more than $1 billion, according to federal prosecutor Joseph Thompson. They concern, among others: providing fictitious social services.

Due to the scale of fraud, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz canceled some social programs in the state, which is a major center for refugees from Somalia.

According to the right-wing website City Journal, run by well-known conservative activist Christopher Rufo, some of the money sent by Somalis to their families in the country ends up in the hands of the terrorist organization al-Shabaab. On Monday, Finance Minister Scott Bessent announced an investigation into the matter.

Trump intensified his rhetoric towards immigrants from “third world” countries – and on Tuesday he also talked about “fourth world” countries after the attack on two National Guard soldiers in Washington by an immigrant from Afghanistan. In recent days he announced, among others: a complete ban on migration from these countries, as well as the deprivation of citizenship of naturalized Americans who “undermine the peace”.

According to CBS, the Trump administration is considering expanding the number of countries subject to entry bans from 19 to 30.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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