US President Donald Trump has said he does not want Somali immigrants in the US, telling reporters that they should go back to where they came from.
"I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you," he said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Trump said the US would be "going down the wrong path if they keep bringing garbage into our country."
His disparaging remarks came as immigration authorities reported they were planning a law enforcement operation in Minnesota's large Somali community.
Officials in the state have condemned the plan, arguing that it could unfairly include American citizens who may appear to be from the East African nation.
Minneapolis and St. Paul, known as the Twin Cities, are home to one of the largest Somali communities in the world and the largest in the US.