Governor Tim Walz responded for the first time Tuesday to President Donald Trump's statement that he would be ending a legal immigration status program for Somalis in Minnesota.
The president claimed in his social media posts Minnesota was a "hub of money laundering activity," and that the state's Somali population was "terrorizing" Minnesota and "billions of dollars are missing."
Walz says federal partners have already worked with the state in prosecuting fraud-related cases.
"It's not helpful where the president went beyond fraud and decided to again target an entire community," says Walz. "Try and extrapolate from this people who are here legally fleeing civil war, living in Minnesota? That's not helpful."
Walz called Trump's plan to end TPS a distraction from the president after seemingly endorsing threats to 'hang" United States Senators, and accussing Democrat lawmakers of 'seditious behavior' for urging US troops to refuse illegal orders.
"The U.S. attorneys here have been incredibly helpful with doing this, but this is the president distracting from his own problems of threatening to kill United States senators for expressing the responsibility of the Constitution," Walz claimed. "So this is not surprising. It's unhelpful."
Advocates say the rhetoric smearing all Somalis is inaccurate and puts them at risk.
Meanwhile, Twin Cities Somali leaders and legal experts offering reassurances to the community following the president's announcement. Alec Shaw is Civil Rights Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR.
"This development is something to be taken seriously but not to be cause for alarm," says Shaw. "We expect legal challenges to follow any moves that the administration actually takes to terminate TPS."
Shaw says they're encouraging people not to spread rumors they might be seeing on social media, and to only believe information from a trusted source. He says rumors and fear-mongering only serve to divide the community.
Shaw says the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is the only official who can actually end these protections, and so far no action has been taken.
"There's a lot of misinformation out there that's only working to make people afraid," Shaw adds. "So don't share anything about this issue unless it comes from a trusted source, like a trusted advocacy organization. Rumors and fear mongering only serve to divide our community."