Minneapolis — The woman remembers when she first moved to the neighborhood more than 20 years ago, and the streets were filled with empty storefronts and seemingly abject poverty.
Today, Minneapolis’ Lake Street corridor is crowded with businesses, many of which are owned by Somali refugees.
“Look at what we did here,” said Nasra Hassan, a community health worker whose family came to Minneapolis fleeing civil war in Somalia, one day after the Trump administration. Reducing the number of refugees Allowed in the United States. “Thanks to us, this place is thriving.”
Minnesota’s large Somali community was among the immigrant groups that helped revitalize the Lake Street corridor, which exacerbated the problem It has been called for a long time For newcomers to America. But scattered throughout the city are other communities and many other businesses built by refugees. They came to escape violence in Mexico and war in Myanmar. Recent years have seen their arrival from Congo and Ukraine.
“Where would America be without us?” – Hassan asked.
The presidential order sets the annual refugee intake at 7,500, down more than 90% from last year’s ceiling of 125,000 and the lowest number since the program began in 1980.
Trump Suspended indefinitely The refugee resettlement program — which has historically enjoyed broad bipartisan support — on his first day in office in 2025, part of his administration’s plan. Immigration suppression.
But Thursday’s order represents a major breach for a nation that has long viewed itself as a refuge for people in need.
The directive “closed the door on our proud, centuries-old tradition of welcoming those fleeing violence and persecution, leaving thousands in limbo and many more at risk,” Mourad Awawda, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, said in a statement. He called for “prioritizing the people most at risk, including Afghans, Sudanese, Congolese, Somalis, religious minorities” and others.
Traditionally, asylum applicants must show a well-founded fear of persecution because of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.
But Thursday’s announcement specifically referred to only one group: white South Africans.
She said that those accepted “will be allocated primarily among… Africans from South Africa“, descendants of Dutch and French colonial settlers, and “other victims of unlawful or unjust discrimination in their homelands.”
Trump insists that Africans are victims of racial oppression, including violence, a claim that has no clear basis in reality and which the South African government vehemently denies.
Afrikaners make up a small minority in South Africa, but they are deeply integrated into the country’s life, whether as farmers, wealthy business leaders or government officials.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States, about 87,000 people according to the latest census figures, most of whom live in the Minneapolis area. They have been coming to Minnesota, often as refugees, since the 1990s, drawn by generous social services and an ever-growing diaspora community.
They are becoming increasingly prominent in the country. Somali Americans served on the Minneapolis and St. Paul city councils. They are in the state legislature. Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar represents part of the state in the US House of Representatives.
Today, the Somali community is concentrated in a few Minneapolis neighborhoods, including the Lake Street corridor around Carmel Mall and dozens of Somali businesses.
The mall has clothing stores, travel agencies, money exchanges, bakeries and an endless number of cafes: Faida Cafe, Sharif Coffee, Latifa Cafeteria, Happy Cafe, and more.
Across the street is a grocery store advertising goat and camel meat. Nearby are Somali-owned auto body shops, more clothing stores and more cafes.
Refugees — from Somalia, Latin America and elsewhere — have seeped deeply into life in Minnesota, whether as health care aides or to help stabilize the workforce in shrinking small towns, said Farton Willie, a prominent Somali activist. She wonders what will happen if they can no longer find refuge in the United States
“Who will take care of the elderly or work in our factories?” I asked.