Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tried to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting a number of violent illegal immigrants back to Somalia, even though some of the immigrants had previous convictions for rape, murder and crimes against children.
Today’s flight to Somalia included the removal of dangerous criminals. Read more ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/E2bWzcj708
— ICE (@ICEgov) September 19, 2020
“This week, ICE removed 39 Somalia nationals, 36 of whom have criminal histories,” acting ICE director Tony Pham wrote in a letter addressed to Omar.
“These crimes include murder, rape, domestic violence, assault, sexual assault, crimes against children, drug trafficking, and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization,” he continued.
Omar wrote a letter to ICE earlier this month calling for a halt to the deportations, citing the coronavirus pandemic as a “risk” to the safety of the illegal immigrants.
She called ICE’s actions “cruel” and accused the agency of “exporting the virus to other countries.”
In a response to Omar, Pham shared a list of case backgrounds that he said “should give you reason to applaud the good work ICE has done to protect the American people, including the people of the state of Minnesota.”
Among those being deported was a Somali national who had been convicted for second degree murder, and another with multiple convictions for rape, and indecent liberties and communication with a minor for immoral purposes, ICE said.
ICE is set to deport dozens of individuals from my district to Somalia, risking the spread of COVID.
ICE’s actions will not only put these individuals at risk, but could have far-reaching consequences for Somalia.
This week, I sent a letter to ICE to get answers.
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) September 12, 2020
Deporting immigrants during a pandemic is cruel — but deporting immigrants infected with COVID-19 and exporting the virus to other countries is on an entirely different level of inhumane.
ICE must be held accountable.https://t.co/8aBPbaq01q
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 18, 2020
