Somali Immigrants Linked to Extremism, Gangs, and Criminal Activity
ICE announced that during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, launched on December 1, 2025, federal agents arrested multiple criminal illegal aliens described by the Department of Homeland Security as “the worst of the worst.”
Those arrested included individuals convicted of child sexual offenses, domestic abuse, gang-related crimes, and other repeat offenses who had been living in the community despite prior criminal records. DHS attributed their continued presence to sanctuary policies and local leadership decisions, stating that ICE intervened to enforce federal law and address public safety concerns.
Several of those arrested were illegal aliens from Somalia. According to the ICE press release, Abdulkadir Sharif Abdi was identified as a former Gangster Disciples member and a current member of the Vice Lord Nation. His convictions include fraud, receiving stolen property, possession of a stolen vehicle, vehicle theft, and multiple probation violations.
Sahal Osman Shidane, also from Somalia, was convicted of criminal sexual conduct involving a minor between the ages of 13 and 15. Mukthar Mohamed Ali, another Somali national, was convicted of assault, fraud, robbery, and larceny.
Ahmed Mohamed Said, an illegal alien from Somalia, has multiple convictions, including two domestic violence offenses, three convictions for driving under the influence, assault, property damage, and probation violations. Feisal Mohamed-Omar, also from Somalia, was charged with two counts of domestic violence.
In a separate case, a 19-year-old Minnesota gang member, Ibrahim Ahmed Mohamud, also known as “Ibbs” or “30,” pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a machinegun. Mohamud is a member of the YSL (Young Slime Life) criminal street gang and was implicated in a February 24, 2024 drive-by shooting after mistaking the victim for a member of a rival gang affiliated with the Muddy group and the Somali Outlaws.
Law enforcement searched Mohamud and his vehicle and recovered two firearms, including a Glock 19X pistol equipped with a switch that rendered it fully automatic. The firearms were forensically linked to another gang-related shooting that occurred two days earlier in Lino Lakes, Minnesota, targeting suspected Muddy gang members. Mohamud’s DNA was found on the modified firearm, and police vehicle video recorded him attempting to pressure a juvenile passenger into taking responsibility for the weapons. Mohamud pleaded guilty before a U.S. District Court judge, and sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
Somali gangs operate in several U.S. cities, particularly in the Twin Cities area. These gangs include the Somali Outlaws, the Somali Mafia, and the Lady Outlaws. Federal investigations have documented gang involvement in drug and weapons trafficking, human trafficking, credit card fraud, prostitution, violent crime, and burglaries.
Somali gangs are distinct in that they are not based on geographic territory but on ethnicity, with Somali identity serving as an important criterion for membership. Criminal acts are often conducted across wide geographic areas spanning multiple states, and this mobility has made the groups difficult to track. Law enforcement sources report that Somali gangs have engaged in witness tampering and intimidation, posing ongoing threats to successful prosecutions.
Crime-related data on violent extremism from National Institute of Justice and Department of Justice studies indicate that between 2007 and 2012 there were 23 cases involving Somalis joining or attempting to join al-Shabaab. From 2013 to 2015, 16 cases involved Somalis joining or attempting to join ISIS. Minnesota accounted for 39 foreign fighter cases across all groups during this period, representing about 25 percent of the U.S. total.
Beginning in 2007, several Somali-Americans from Minnesota traveled to Somalia to join al-Shabaab. After 2012, others traveled to join ISIS. In 2008, 26-year-old Shirwa Ahmed, a Somali-born American citizen, became the first documented American suicide bomber.
More than 20 young Somalis were convicted in U.S. District Court in Minnesota on terrorism-related charges linked to al-Shabaab recruitment. Beginning in 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant began recruiting Somali Minnesotans to travel overseas. A number of Somali Minnesotan men and women traveled, attempted to travel, or took steps in preparation to travel to join ISIL.
In 2015, nine Somali-American men from Minneapolis were arrested by the FBI for attempting to join ISIS. During the May 2016 trial, defendants stated they were radicalized online by videos from Anwar al-Awlaki and ISIS beheadings. Some claimed they intended to travel to Syria to protect Muslims they believed were being slaughtered by the Assad regime.
Senior U.S. District Judge Michael J. Davis ordered defendants who pleaded guilty to undergo risk assessments conducted by Daniel Koehler, director of the German Institute on Radicalization and Deradicalization Studies, as part of a Terrorism Disengagement and Deradicalization Program. Koehler testified in September 2016, rating defendants from low-to-medium risk to high risk.
President Trump has been attacked by liberals who claim he has unfairly targeted Somalis or fabricated accusations against Somali immigrants. However, the record shows that his statements about crime, illegal immigration, and high welfare dependency are grounded in documented cases of welfare fraud, visa fraud, organized gang activity, and prosecutions involving Islamic extremist networks investigated by federal authorities.
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