Minnesota Governor Tim Walz delivered a sharp, three-word rebuttal to President Trump on Friday following a blisteringly personal Thanksgiving statement from the President that targeted Walz and the state’s Somali community.
“Release the MRI results,” Walz wrote on X. The comment referenced a medical visit Trump reportedly made to Walter Reed Military Center last month; the White House has not yet disclosed the findings of the scan.
The governor’s retort came in response to a lengthy post on Truth Social where President Trump criticized Walz’s handling of immigration. In the post, Trump accused Walz of doing nothing while “Somalian gangs” allegedly “take over” the state, attributing the governor’s inaction to “fear, incompetence, or both.”
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Escalating Tensions Over Immigration Policy
The war of words highlights a significant shift in federal policy targeting Minnesota’s immigrant population.
On Friday, the President announced the immediate termination of legal protections for Somali residents in Minnesota, justifying the move by claiming that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State.”
Trump’s Thanksgiving message claimed that “hundreds of thousands” of refugees have overwhelmed Minnesota.
U.S. Census Bureau data from 2024 places the state’s Somali population—the largest in the country—at approximately 107,000. Additionally, Congress reported in August that only 705 Somalis in the U.S. currently hold temporary protected status (TPS).
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Security Concerns and Recent Violence
The administration’s tightening of immigration controls extends beyond the Somali community. The White House is currently reexamining green cards issued to migrants from Somalia and 18 other nations.
This review follows the shooting incident on Wednesday involving Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in 2021.
Lakanwal is the suspected shooter in an attack on two National Guard members. Officials confirmed that Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries on Thursday. The second victim, 24-year-old U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, remains hospitalized in critical condition.
The tragedy appears to have accelerated the President’s push for what he terms “Reverse Migration,” a policy aimed at removing foreign nationals deemed security risks or “non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
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