'He’s wrong': Minneapolis mayor says Somalis 'have been an extraordinary benefit' to city after Trump calls out massive fraud in community

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized Donald Trump on Tuesday after the President rebuked Minnesota's Somali community for rampant fraud at the hands of Somalis that has taken place in recent years. Dozens of prosecutions have taken place against Somalis who have set up non-profits to provide state-sanctioned services, taken state money for those purposes, and then misused the funds. In some cases, taxpayer funds were sent back to Somalia and the terrorist organization there, Al-Shabaab.

Frey said in regard to Trump, "he’s wrong, and we want them here. Somali people have been an extraordinary benefit. I’ll say it again. Somali people have been a benefit to our city for longer than I have been in our city. They have started businesses and created jobs. They have added to the cultural fabric of what Minneapolis is. They were welcoming to me when I first came out to Minneapolis. In fact, they were one of the first groups that I myself got to know.

"To, again, villainize an entire group is ridiculous under any circumstances, and the way that Donald Trump is consistently doing it, I think calls into question major constitutional violations, and it certainly violates the moral fabric of what we stand by in this country as Americans," Frey continued. 

Billions of taxpayer dollars from the state have reportedly been stolen during the Tim Walz administration in the state, with fraud schemes being found in housing programs, Medicare and Medicaid, rehabilitation and disability programs, food aid services, and children's autism programs. Most of those who perpetrated the fraud have been Somalian.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said, "But when I watch what is happening in Minnesota, the land of 1000 lakes, or however many lakes they have, they got a lot of lakes, but this beautiful place, and I see these people ripping it off. And now I'm understanding, and you're going to look at that, I hear they ripped off, Somalians, ripped off that state for billions of dollars, billions, every year billions of dollars. And they contribute nothing. The welfare is like 88 percent. They contribute nothing. 

"I don't want them in our country. I'll be honest with you, okay? Somebody will say, 'Oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care. I don't want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks, and we don't want them in our country. I can say that about other countries too. I can say it about other countries too.

"We have to rebuild our country. You know, our country's at a tipping point. We could go bad. We're at a tipping point. I don't know if people mind me saying that, but I'm saying it. We could go one way or the other, and we're going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country. Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people that work. These aren't people that say, 'let's go, come on. Let's make this place great.' These are people that do nothing but complain. They complain and from where they came from, they got nothing. You know, they came from paradise, and they said, This isn't paradise. But when they come from hell and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don't want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it."