Rep. Tom Emmer says Somalis who "don't assimilate" should "go the hell back to where they came from"
U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, at a Wednesday evening Capitol Hill event, said that Somali immigrants who don't assimilate "should go the hell back to where they came from" — remarks that drew sharp criticism, including from fellow Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, herself an immigrant from Somalia.
The Republican Emmer's remarks were made at a Faith and Freedom Coalition town hall on Capitol Hill, where he said immigrants who don't assimilate "should go the hell back to where they came from." He also said he was "done being careful" about being labeled a racist or an Islamophobe.
"The reason I bring it up is because, (as) I tell people regularly, Minnesota did not create passive-aggressive behavior, but we did perfect it," he said. "I happen to be more on the aggressive-aggressive side, which doesn't always work in Minnesota. ... Sometimes Minnesotans are so afraid that you're going to call us a racist, you're going to call us an Islamophobe, you're going to call us some name that we just don't want to get into that fight. You know what, I would argue that I never did care, but I'm done being careful, even the least bit careful. ... If they don't assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from."
Omar, who was born in Somalia, responded Thursday afternoon.
"I assimilated all the way to Congress and this idiot still tells me to go back where I came from," Omar said.
Rep. Angie Craig, who like Omar is a member of the Democratic Party, called Emmer's comments "racist."
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S., with the latest U.S. Census data indicating that roughly 107,000 are living in Minnesota, and about 84,000 in the Twin Cities metro area.
Wednesday's comments position Emmer further to the right on Somali assimilation compared to a decade ago. In a 2016 NPR "This American Life" episode, he was quoted as saying the Somali community was among "the fastest-assimilating populations that we've had," and that legal residents could not be told they were unwelcome.
"I'm going to say it out loud – when you move to a community, as long as you are here legally, I am very sorry, but you don't get to slam the gate behind you and tell nobody else that they're welcome. That's not the way this country works," he said at the time.
Earlier this year, Emmer called for the deportation of Somali Americans engaged in fraud, following the arrests and convictions of more than 60 people connected to the high-profile Feeding Our Future fraud scandal. He added that those in the country illegally should be "deported immediately" and that naturalized citizens should have their citizenship revoked.
