‘IT’S GO TIME’ — Radical Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar Panics After President Donald Trump Has ICE Launching Armed Raids...
ICE Launches Armed Raids Across Minnesota Targeting Illegal Somali Nationals
Federal immigration agents have launched a series of armed raids across Minnesota aimed at detaining Somali nationals wanted on federal warrants, sparking political backlash and confusion in the Twin Cities region known locally as “Somali-land Minnesota.”
According to The Post Millennial’s Katie Daviscourt, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began the operation over the weekend, deploying roughly 100 federal agents from across the country to execute immigration warrants against Somali nationals with prior deportation orders or criminal convictions. Sources told the outlet several arrests have already been made.
One male suspect allegedly assaulted officers before being taken into custody. A previously deported woman fled into a residence before she and “several collateral arrests” were made, according to Daviscourt’s report, which included exclusive video of the raids.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that masked individuals seen detaining residents in Somali neighborhoods were federal officers but warned that the department had not been briefed on the operation.
“If there is anything that is a violation of someone’s human rights or civil rights, excessive force or anything like that, officers have a duty to intervene,” O’Hara said, urging residents to call 911 if they encounter unidentified law enforcement activity.
Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the operation, reiterating that city policy bars Minneapolis police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on civil enforcement.
“We do not and will not participate in ICE raids,” Frey said at a news conference, calling the actions “deeply concerning.”
The raids come amid an ongoing political firestorm in Minnesota’s Somali community after revelations of a $250 million COVID-relief fraud scheme that federal prosecutors say siphoned taxpayer funds from a program meant to feed low-income children. Federal investigators allege that portions of the stolen money were funneled overseas and may have reached al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based al-Qaeda affiliate.
In a recent interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar suggested that members of the Somali community were the real victims. “We are also taxpayers in Minnesota,” Omar said, expressing frustration that her constituents were being portrayed as perpetrators rather than victims. When pressed by host Margaret Brennan about the reported terror-funding link, Omar responded, “If that is the case, we want to know, and we want those people prosecuted.”
Adding to the tension, congressional financial disclosures show Omar’s net worth surged nearly 3,500 percent last year — from roughly $51,000 to as much as $30 million — largely through her husband Tim Mynett’s investments in a California winery and a Washington, D.C. venture-capital firm.
Omar has denied the reports, calling them “a coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign.” But critics say the disclosure spike raises new ethics questions for the congresswoman just as her district becomes the focal point of federal immigration enforcement.
ICE has not commented publicly on the ongoing operation, citing the active nature of the warrants. A senior homeland-security official told Fox News that the raids are focused on “individuals with final removal orders and prior criminal histories,” adding that “Minnesota has one of the highest concentrations of deportation-eligible Somali nationals in the country.”
Federal officials emphasized that the enforcement effort is unrelated to the state’s pandemic-fraud investigations but said overlapping criminal networks have made coordination with financial-crimes and counterterrorism units “a matter of necessity.”
Local activists and Democratic officials, meanwhile, are framing the raids as political intimidation. “These kinds of actions terrorize families who have lived here for decades,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
As tensions mount, the Department of Homeland Security has reportedly ordered an internal review of communications breakdowns between ICE and local law enforcement, while Republican lawmakers are applauding the crackdown as long overdue.
“President Trump promised to restore the rule of law,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN). “If individuals here illegally are defrauding taxpayers and funneling money to terrorists, the federal government has every obligation to act.”
The raids are expected to continue through the week
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
