The Council on American-Islamic Relations is claiming that President Donald Trump’s impending repeal of deportation protections for Somali immigrants in Minnesota, following reporting about state welfare funds being used to sponsor Islamic terrorism, is part of an “Israel First” conspiracy against Muslims in America.
CAIR’s strategy of spinning an anti-Israel narrative about the Somali fraudsters scandal comes as the Muslim rights group faces increasing scrutiny for its alleged funding ties to foreign terrorists and as GOP leadership takes further aim at those allegedly complicit in the Minnesota welfare fraud schemes.
“We believe this is an Israeli First public campaign targeting a very vulnerable community, the Somali-American community, and a very vulnerable congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, as an effort to try to win back the many young Americans who believe that America should not be getting into wars for other countries,” Jaylani Hussein, the executive director of CAIR’s Minnesota chapter, alleged at a Nov. 24 press conference.
Hussein then tied the so-called “coordinated campaign” to conservative podcasters Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, claiming that the “Israel First” agenda is similarly going after right-wing voices critical of America’s support for Israel.
“I know for sure that this campaign mirrors the same campaign targeting Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, major influencers on the conservative side, who have gained tremendous support in the younger generation of Republicans who are refusing to accept that America will continue to take [on] the wars of Israel, destabilize the Middle East, lose American soldiers, lose their own tax dollars while committing carnage and lossage in the lives of Muslims,” said Hussein.
CAIR Minnesota’s press conference came in response to Trump announcing on Truth Social that he would, “effective immediately,” rescind temporary protected status for Somalis specifically residing in the North Star State.
“Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” Trump wrote, alleging that “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing.”
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States, with many Somali immigrants living in the metropolitan areas, particularly Minneapolis. Many of them were resettled through U.S. refugee programs and found Minnesota appealing due to the state’s social services programs.
Trump’s move followed a City Journal report detailing how millions of dollars in taxpayer money were stolen through a criminal network of Minnesota welfare fraud schemes and have wound up in the coffers of al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based terrorist group known for its guerrilla warfare.
Citing federal counterterrorism sources, City Journal reported that the radical organization, a longtime ally of al Qaeda, is “taking a cut” of the funds funneled from the Twin Cities back to Somalia.
In the aftermath of the piece’s publication, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) suggested that Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) is “criminally complicit” for allowing widespread abuse of state-administered assistance programs to happen on his watch.
Employees with the Minnesota Department of Human Services also blamed Walz, saying he is “100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota” and had “systematically retaliated” against whistleblowers who raised fraud-related concerns. In response, the Republican National Committee said Walz suppressed information when it was brought to his attention by Minnesota government workers and accused him of using intimidation tactics to silence whistleblowers.
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During last week’s news briefing, Hussein said that CAIR believes the City Journal article is “based on false information that is being wrongfully connected.”
Hussein’s comments also came a day after CAIR’s national organization honored the death of Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, best known as H. Rap Brown, the Black Panther Party’s minister of justice, who was convicted of murdering a Fulton County sheriff’s deputy in 2000.
A militant leader in the Black Power movement, Brown rose to prominence for his inflammatory proclamations such as “Violence is as American as cherry pie” and “If America don’t come around, we’re gonna burn it down.”
“Imam Jamil Al-Amin was a hero of the civil rights movement and a victim of injustice who died in prison, jailed for a crime he did not commit,” CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, said in a statement mourning his death. “We pray that God rewards him with paradise for his good deeds and the injustices he suffered.”
Awad has faced controversy himself for saying he was “happy to see [Palestinians] break the siege” on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 civilians in Israel and took hundreds hostage.
At a 2007 terrorism finance trial, federal prosecutors named CAIR an “unindicted co-conspirator,” allegedly having helped funnel more than $12 million to Hamas. Awad, who co-founded CAIR, previously served as public relations director for the Islamic Association of Palestine, another pro-Palestinian outfit accused of raising funds for Hamas.
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Earlier in November, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) designated CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization and ordered a criminal investigation into its operations. CAIR has since sued the state of Texas, asserting in a complaint that Abbott “improperly” handed down the designation without due process and infringed on the group’s First Amendment rights.
The Washington Examiner contacted CAIR Minnesota for comment.
