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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 3, 2025

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Media Relations - mediarelations@janm.org - 213.830.5690

JANM

JANM Decries the Administration’s Racist and Anti-Immigrant Language Against Somali Immigrants

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Editors please note: JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus and at other locations at janm.org/OnTheGo. 

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) decries the Administration’s racist and anti-immigrant language towards Somali immigrants in the US and the planned immigration enforcement operation targeting Somali immigrants in Minnesota. This week, the President used dehumanizing language to disparage Somali immigrants in the US, including US Representative Ilhan Omar, a US citizen. He accused them of being too reliant on the US social safety net and not making contributions to the country, demanding that they return to Somalia to fix their former homeland’s issues. The Administration is planning an immigration enforcement operation targeting Minnesota Somali immigrants who are living unlawfully in the US for deportation. Nearly 58% of the Somalis in Minnesota were born in the US and 87% of foreign-born Somalis in Minnesota are naturalized US citizens.

“JANM decries the Administration’s racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric towards Somali immigrants. It is rooted in the same xenophobia, racism, and hate that paved the way for the unjust incarceration of over 125,000 Japanese Americans in US concentration camps during World War II. JANM’s mission is guided by the conviction that the hard-earned lessons of history must inform our response to the present. We cannot allow ourselves to become inured to the increasingly ugly language used to denigrate immigrants and their descendents. The normalization of such rhetoric dulls our awareness and erodes our collective responsibility to speak out against dehumanization in all its forms. JANM reaffirms its commitment to defending democracy and civil rights, standing against racism, xenophobia, and intolerance, and uplifting diverse voices to build bridges across communities,” said Ann Burroughs, JANM President and CEO.

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