Socialist Somali Minneapolis mayoral candidate says ‘undocumented residents’ and ‘hostile federal government’ are ‘top priority’

Fateh was speaking to reporters when he made the comment, after being asked what his top priorities in office would be. "Day one, if you were elected, what would be some of your top two or three priorities for the city?" the reporter asked in the interview that aired on Friday.

"The first I would say would be a hostile federal government, with not only Donald Trump in office, but he essentially has a trifecta with both chambers of Congress and the Supreme Court. A lot of our neighbors, especially our undocumented residents, are very concerned," Fateh said in response.

Other priorities he then stated were public safety, however, he did not endorse the position to entirely defund the police. "That's not going to happen, absolutely," Fateh said of abolishing law enforcement. "What we envision is a public safety system that works for everyone, and that means we have an accountable police force and a police force that is an important part of our public safety system, but making sure that when we call 911, we get an appropriate response."

He claimed that half of the 911 calls in Minneapolis did not need to have a response "with armed officers," and argued that more funding should be directed to social workers and others who could respond to the calls.

Some have called Fateh the "Mamdani of Minneapolis," according to Fox News. Fateh has previously called Zohran Mamdani—who is running for NYC mayor—a "friend" and "fellow Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member." The two socialist candidates have similar policy prescriptions, such as rent control policies as well as increasing the minimum wage.