The Minnesota chapter and national headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today strongly condemned racist and dishonest attacks on Rep. Ilhan Omar and the broader Somali-American community, including remarks by President Trump referring to all Somali-Americans and Somali immigrants as “garbage” and calling for them to be sent back to their country of origin.
SEE: Trump says he doesn’t want Somalis in the US | AP News
In a statement, CAIR said:
“We strongly condemn the dangerous and openly racist rhetoric targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar and the broader Somali-American community. The hateful claims made about Somali-Americans and Somali immigrants sound exactly like the bigoted remarks once made about the Irish, Italians and other communities who endured hate while establishing their place in our nation.”
“The fact is that Somali-Americans have, just one generation after arriving here as refugees with limited resources, built a thriving community of business owners, factory workers, medical professionals, religious leaders, elected officials and others who contribute to our nation. Efforts to smear all Somali-Americans with raw racism is the latest example of political leaders trying to use a boogeyman to distract the American public from real issues. This dangerous bigotry must end now.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com