Ilhan Omar claims Trump travel ban is 'cruel' and 'inhumane,' says he has 'creepy obsession' with Somalians

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar criticized President Donald Trump’s expanded travel ban as “cruel” and “inhumane” after the Trump administration moved to add more countries to the list of restricted nations, which already includes Omar’s home country of Somalia.

Omar appeared on CNN, where she discussed the travel ban in an interview with Wolf Blitzer and argued that the policy separates families. Groups of Somalians in Minnesota have been discovered to have been engaging in fraud by taking money for to provide government services that they never delivered. In some cases there have been kickbacks to others in the community who allowed those non-profit groups to claim they were providing benefits to those persons.

“The biggest worry of the new executive order is that it does separate families,” she claimed. “It doesn’t create an exception for US citizens to have their family members be able to come visit and celebrate milestones with them, so this is a very cruel, inhumane immigration policy that he is putting in place.”

Omar also responded to Trump’s past comments about Somalis, in which the president said Somali-born migrants should return to their home country and fix problems there rather than come to the United States. Omar pushed back, arguing that Somali immigrants contribute significantly to American society.

“He’s talking about Americans. We are doctors, we are teachers, we are entrepreneurs, and we are elected representatives of our state,” she said.

“These vile comments and sort of creepy obsession that he has on me and Somali Americans really is dangerous and it’s beneath the office of the presidency,” Omar added.

The Trump administration has recently put attention on Somali migrants in Omar’s state of Minnesota, as reports have shown widespread fraud carried out by the community.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration expanded travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries. The proclamation signed by the president continues full entry restrictions on nationals from 12 high-risk countries that he banned during his first term, including Afghanistan, Iran, and Somalia. It also adds full restrictions on Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria, while imposing partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The proclamation includes exemptions for lawful permanent residents, visa holders, and other individuals whose entry is deemed to serve US national interests.