GOP Sen John Curtis urges Americans to help ‘immigrants feel more welcome,' breaks with Trump over Somali comments

Utah Republican senator John Curtis called on Americans to take personal responsibility to make “immigrants feel more welcome” in the country. 

Speaking Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union, Curtis was asked about the controversy surrounding Minnesota’s Somali population, which has drawn scrutiny from the Trump administration over issues including illegal immigrants from Somalia, large-scale welfare fraud schemes, and concerns about migrants who appear opposed to American values. The discussion highlighted President Donald Trump’s recent remarks in which he referred to Rep. Ilhan Omar and Somalis in Minnesota as “garbage,” arguing that he did not want them in the country and that they should return to their country of origin.

Curtis distanced himself from the rhetoric, saying he “can’t control anybody” except himself. He then urged Americans to “wake up every morning, look in the mirror, and say what are we doing—what am I doing—specifically today to make this country a better country, to make all of our immigrants feel more welcome.”

“I think if more of us would do that, it would matter less what individuals say,” he added.

Curtis, who previously ran unsuccessfully for the Utah state senate as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party and later winning elections to the House and then the Senate, did not initially support Trump in the 2024 GOP primary but endorsed him in the general election. He said Trump was elected to be a “disruptor” and accused him of installing other “disruptors,” such as border czar Tom Homan. Curtis acknowledged that the disruption has been “very painful” but argued that voters chose that direction because they were dissatisfied with previous policies.

However, he cautioned against adopting an “us against them” attitude in immigration enforcement and said that a lack of transparency from immigration authorities can “bring this fear into a community.”