Latest news with #Somali-American
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Scapegoating entire nations.' Trump's travel ban hurts innocent Columbus families
Farxaan Jeyte is a seasoned political strategist, entrepreneur and advocate with over 20 years of experience in U.S. presidential, gubernatorial and Senate campaigns. He is active in U.S.–Africa policy and supports minority-owned businesses through his work in trade, governance and grassroots advocacy. Donald Trump's administration argues that banning citizens of 12 countries — Somalia included — from entering the United States will fill gaps in foreign vetting and prevent dangerous individuals from slipping through. The move came after an Egyptian national was arrested on charges that he firebombed a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado. Trump said the attack 'underscored the extreme dangers posed by foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.' White House officials call the move 'commonsense' and say it targets countries with weak screening and high visa overstay rates to 'protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors.' Yet for all the focus on security, the human costs of a blanket ban are impossible to ignore. The policy casts a wide net, halting travel for entire populations because of the actions of a few. It sweeps up people who pose no threat: students, grandparents and refugees. More: Habiba Soliman wanted to be a doctor. Then, her father firebombed Jewish marchers in Boulder Punishing whole nations for the crimes of individuals also raises basic fairness issues. Notably, the Boulder suspect's country of origin, Egypt, isn't even on the ban list, calling into question how effective banning other countries really is. From the administration's view, the Boulder attack was a wake-up call revealing flaws in the immigration system. Officials note the suspect was an Egyptian visitor who overstayed his visa — a failure of enforcement they cite as proof of lax vetting. Supporters of the ban point out that many listed nations are unstable, potentially allowing extremists to slip through. By halting entry from countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia — all grappling with terrorism — the administration contends it is closing dangerous loopholes to prevent another tragedy. Critics argue the collateral damage — broken families and lost trust — far outweighs any security benefit. Human rights groups have decried the renewed policy as 'discriminatory' and cruel, saying it 'sows division and vilifies communities' seeking safety. The consequences for innocent families will be devastating. Ohio has roughly 60,000 Somali-American residents in the Columbus area. This vibrant community has contributed enormously — immigrants from Somalia have opened hundreds of local businesses and enriched the city's culture. More: 'Nobody told us about the neighborhood': Somali Americans experiences with youth violence A ban on Somalia strikes at the heart of these families. Grandparents may miss the birth of a grandchild, and students could see siblings barred from graduations. In Columbus, conversations are filled with concern for relatives stranded abroad. People who once fled terror and found refuge in America now worry they're seen as threats. It's a painful irony that has left many feeling alienated in the only country they call home. Trump's 2017 travel ban on Muslim-majority countries like Somalia caused chaos at airports and tore families apart — a history now poised to repeat. One Somali refugee in Ohio was separated from his wife and children for nearly seven years due to that ban. We can protect America without scapegoating entire nations. Rather than broad bans, officials should pursue targeted, intelligence-based measures — stronger background checks, better visa enforcement and vetting individuals based on real red flags, not blanket nationality. U.S. agencies are capable of pinpointing threats without closing the door on innocent travelers. Blanket travel bans offer a false sense of security while breeding resentment. A wiser approach balances vigilance with fairness, preserving goodwill with immigrant communities. Somali-Americans have proven their commitment to this country and should be treated as partners in safety, not suspects. Focusing on genuine threats — instead of scapegoating entire populations — is more just and more effective at keeping America safe. Farxaan Jeyte is a seasoned political strategist, entrepreneur and advocate with over 20 years of experience in U.S. presidential, gubernatorial and Senate campaigns. He is active in U.S.–Africa policy and supports minority-owned businesses through his work in trade, governance and grassroots advocacy. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trump's travel ban lists countries with strong Ohio ties | Opinion
Time of India
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Ilhan Omar refuses to comment on DC shooting in viral video, issues statement later
Ilhan Omar issued a statement condemning the killing of two Israeli diplomats after she was seen evading questions in a viral video. The video of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar walking away and saying 'I'm going to go for now', when she was asked to comment on the murders of two Israeli diplomats, went viral. After drawing flak for her insensitivity captured on the camera, the Somali-American issued a statement in which she said she was "appalled" by the shooting. "I am appalled by the deadly shooting at the Capital Jewish Museum last night," Omar said in a post on X on Thursday. "Holding the victims, their families, and loved ones in my thoughts and prayers. Violence should have no place in our country." Diplomats Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim -- a young couple who were soon to be engaged -- were gunned down as they were departing the Capital Jewish Museum after attending an event. 30 -year-old Elias Rodriguez, a Chicago man, admitted to having killed them when the police arrived to arrest him as he chanted 'free, free Palestine'. The antisemitism attack taking place in Washington shocked the administration, and all pro-Palestine voices have been targeted on social media. Omar has been a vocal advocate for the Palestinian cause; her daughter Isra Hirsi was also arrested during a pro-Palestinian protest at Columbia last year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Launch at Godrej Sector 12 | Luxurious 3 & 4 BHK Homes @₹2.91 Cr* Godrej Majesty Book Now Undo "Too late. You spew so much hate. You hate Israel. You hate Jewish people. You hate America. Resign," one wrote in reply to Ilhan Omar's statement. "I am appalled by you. Please go back to Somalia," another wrote. "Why couldn't you condemn the shooting when you were asked on camera about it earlier?" one asked. "Those who were waiting for the post, finally it is here, but deep down she is screaming Free Palestine," one wrote. The White House Thursday said President Donald Trump is saddened and outraged over the brutal murder of the Israeli embassy staff members. 'The evil of anti-Semitism must be eradicated from our society,' press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, adding that the Department of Justice will prosecute the perpetrator 'to the fullest extent of the law.' Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Trump after the shooting and thanked the administration for its effort to combat antisemitism.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MAGA turns n-word-shouting woman into folk hero - and blames Texas stabbing case for outpouring of support
A Minnesota woman who called a five-year-old Black child the 'n-word,' and then repeated that racial slur multiple times in a viral video while defending her actions, has raised over $700,000 as she has become a cultural folk-hero to much of the American far-right. The crowdfunding campaign for Shiloh Hendrix, which she initially posted after she shot to infamy over her confrontation with a Somali-American man in a playground, has taken off after the online right viewed it as a form of backlash over the funds raised in support of Karmelo Anthony. Anthony, a Black high school student, has been charged with first-degree murder over the stabbing death of white teenager Austin Metcalf at a track meet in Texas. The case has drawn attention in conservative circles, especially after Anthony's legal defense raised over $500,000 on the crowdfunding app GiveSendGo. Besides using the Hendrix incident as a way to exhibit their own form of 'vice signaling' over the Anthony case, a large portion of the MAGA crowd has also seen their support of her as part of their fight against 'anti-white racism' and the 'cancel culture' mob. 'I'm glad she raised half a million dollars. I hope she raises half a million more,' Daily Wire podcaster Matt Walsh tweeted this week, sharing a video that featured a 20-minute monologue on why he backs Hendrix. MAGA provocateur Matt Walsh is calling for Shiloh Hendrix to receive another half-million dollars from her crowdfunding campaign. (Gage Skidmore/X) In the video, which was filmed by 30-year-old Sharmake Omar in a Minnesota public park, Hendrix admits that she called a young Somali boy the 'n-word' because 'he took my son's stuff.' She then goes on to repeat the slur multiple times before seemingly justifying her actions during the filmed confrontation with Omar. 'If that's what he's going to act like,' Hendrix says when asked by Omar why she used the 'n-word' to describe the child. Omar told NBC News that the child is on the autism spectrum and that the parents, whom he knows, have expressed support in filing charges against Hendrix, and a local chapter of the NAACP has raised more than $300,000 for the family since the video went viral. Local police, meanwhile, have said they completed an investigation of the incident. 'I called the kid out for what he was,' Hendrix wrote in her fundraising plea, adding that she's been doxxed. 'I am asking for your help to assist in protecting my family. I fear that we must relocate.' 'Like other viral-video incidents, a lot of the facts aren't clear. The man who shot the video claimed the child Hendrix allegedly accosted is autistic. Some of Hendrix's supporters, meanwhile, have suggested the child is actually quite older, comparing the child's height with the height of some playground equipment,' The Bulwark's Will Sommer wrote. 'They argue that the child is roughly 10, which apparently would be a far more defensible age to call the boy a racial slur.' Media critic Parker Molloy argued in her The Present Age newsletter that the right-wing wagon-circling around Hendrix was 'the most grotesque example I've seen recently of what some people call 'vice signaling' — the conservative movement's twisted mirror image of virtue signaling, where people donate money specifically to show support for reprehensible behavior.' 'We saw similar dynamics with Kyle Rittenhouse, Daniel Penny and others who've become right-wing causes célèbre,' she added. 'The playbook is simple: do or say something awful, get rightfully called out for it, claim victimhood, and watch the money roll in from people who want to show their support for what you did while pretending it's about 'free speech' or 'fighting cancel culture.'' A number of prominent far-right personalities have voiced their support for Shiloh Hendrix, claiming that backing her fundraising campaign sends a message to those worried about 'anti-white racism.' (X) Some of the most notorious voices on the right, such as white supremacist and Donald Trump dinner guest Nick Fuentes, have explicitly invoked the Anthony fundraiser while voicing their support for Hendrix. 'Black people just raised $500,000 for a cold-blooded killer who stabbed a white teenager to death,' he posted. 'So I don't want to hear ONE WORD about the Shiloh Hendrix fundraiser. Either everybody gets to be tribal or nobody does.' MAGA podcaster Tim Pool said that while calling children racial slurs is 'crass and crude,' the support for Hendrix shows 'white guilt' is over. 'She's making money,' he added. 'This sends a message to other white people: Stop taking racial abuse.' While other social media provocateurs sounded off and said they backed Hendrix 'on principle' to fight 'gay race communism,' Walsh – the creative voice and star behind the hit right-wing documentary Am I Racist? – provided Hendrix's campaign a massive boost while delivering his audience a justification for supporting her. 'The latest race-baiting story followed the cancel culture script right up until the twist ending. Shiloh Hendrix didn't apologize,' Walsh wrote on Facebook, celebrating the amount of money she raised. 'Yes, Shiloh said something offensive. No one's excusing it. But she didn't deserve to be treated like a domestic terrorist,' he continued. 'And that's what her supporters understood. That's why they gave. Because they weren't just donating to a person — they were drawing a line in the sand. They saw the pitchforks coming out again and decided it was time to start swinging back.' In his podcast episode about Hendrix and the positive reaction she's received from the right, Walsh repeatedly said this was all about destroying the 'cancel culture' mob once and for all. Yet, while repeatedly downplaying the racial slur she used, Walsh himself wouldn't actually bring himself to say the word out loud – and tried to explain his reasoning. 'If Black people want white people to not say the word, then they need to not say it. If you say it, then everyone else can say it. Point blank, it's that simple. That's how life works. Deal with it,' he exclaimed. 'It's just a word. It's a vulgar word,' Walsh added. 'It's a rude word. It's a word that Black people shouldn't say for the same reason they shouldn't use any other vulgarity. I'm using n-word right now instead of using the actual word, for the same reason I would use f-word or c-word instead of those actual words.' Still, the rise of Hendrix as a MAGA folk hero has made some conservative pundits a bit uneasy. Former college swimmer turned anti-trans activist Riley Gaines, for instance, asked if the massive fundraising haul was a joke before noting that the right didn't 'need a white Karmelo Anthony.' She also wondered 'what's the goal in rewarding' Hendrix. Others, such as The Babylon Bee's Seth Dillon, expressed concern about the motivations behind many of those amplifying Walsh's support for Hendrix. 'For them, it's not about the end of cancel culture, but the success of tribal whiteness that this case represents and which they're pretending Matt has endorsed,' Dillon noted. Much of the support for Shiloh Hendrix has revolved around conservative 'vice signaling' over the legal defense funds raised by Texas stabbing suspect Karmelo Anthony, a Black teenager who has been charged with murdering a white 17-year-old at a track meet. (Frisco Police Department) GiveSendGo, a so-called 'Christian' platform that has become the 'go-to page for Trumpist rage,' finally decided to step in after both the Anthony and Hendrix donation pages received a flood of offensive posts in recent days. 'At GiveSendGo, we recently disabled comments on the fundraising campaigns for Karmelo Anthony and Shiloh Hendrix due to the unacceptable volume of racist and derogatory remarks,' the platform's co-founder Jacob Wells tweeted on Friday. 'At the time comments were turned off, both campaigns had raised approximately $500,000 with around 15,000 donors each.' Stating that the comments posted don't represent 'values of hope, compassion, and fairness,' he said that the company would allow both campaigns to collect funds and ensure they are delivered to the recipients. 'We took action to stop the spread of divisive rhetoric while ensuring the campaigns continue to serve their intended purpose,' he concluded. 'We call for respectful dialogue and understanding, even in challenging situations.'
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Did Ilhan Omar marry her own brother? Decoding viral MAGA conspiracy theory
Ilhan Omar reacted to a report that confirmed that her second husband Ahmed Elmi is her brother. A resurfaced interview. A MAGA-fuelled conspiracy. A flurry of expletives. And once again, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar finds herself in the middle of America's ever-churning culture wars. This latest firestorm began with conservative activist Laura Loomer re-posting a 2018 clip of Omar telling journalist Mehdi Hasan: 'Our country should be more fearful of white men... we should be profiling, monitoring, and creating policies to fight the radicalisation of white men.' Originally broadcast with little fanfare, the clip has been weaponised in 2025 amid renewed political polarisation. Loomer labelled Omar a 'jihadist member of Congress,' accusing her—without evidence—of having ties to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and ISIS. Then came the second act of the outrage cycle. When a Washington reporter asked Omar if more Democrats should meet Kilmar Abrego Garcia—a Salvadoran man deported by the Trump administration and alleged to have MS-13 links—Omar snapped: 'I think you should f*** off.'When asked if she meant him specifically, she clarified: 'You.' She later doubled down on X (formerly Twitter), writing: 'I said what I said. You and all you miserable trolls can f*** off. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like AI guru Andrew Ng recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around in 2025 Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo ' The MAGA Claim: Did She Marry Her Brother? As her critics piled on, one of the MAGA's oldest and most persistent attacks resurfaced: that Ilhan Omar once married her biological brother in order to commit immigration fraud. The claim dates back to 2016, first floated on a Somali-American internet forum. It alleges that Omar's 2009 marriage to British citizen Ahmed Nur Said Elmi was not only a sham—but that Elmi was, in fact, her biological brother. The motive, according to the theory, was to secure a path to US citizenship for him. Social media posts showing Omar and Elmi together were taken as circumstantial evidence, and the internet did what the internet does best: turned conjecture into certainty. Prominent figures in conservative media—ranging from Laura Loomer to Donald Trump Jr.—amplified the theory. 'She married her brother' became a meme, a slur, and a rallying cry for critics of Omar. Investigations and Findings In 2019, The Minneapolis Star Tribune—Omar's hometown newspaper—conducted an extensive investigation. It found discrepancies in her marriage and tax filings, as well as puzzling gaps in documentation. But on the central allegation, the paper was blunt: 'We could neither conclusively confirm nor rebut the allegation that Elmi is Omar's sibling.' Later, in 2020, the FBI reportedly reviewed the case, alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Education. Yet none of the agencies pressed charges, nor did they release any evidence implicating Omar in wrongdoing. In short: where there should be documentation—birth certificates, DNA tests, family statements—there was only innuendo. What the Fact-Checkers Say All major fact-checking organisations have reviewed the claim. None have found it credible. PolitiFact concluded that while questions existed around dates and filings, 'there is no verified evidence that Elmi is Omar's brother.' Snopes categorised the claim as unproven, noting that the story relied on 'anonymous sources and unverifiable documents.' called the allegation part of a 'broader pattern of misinformation targeting Omar.' The New York Post, Business Insider, and The Times of India have all reviewed the saga in detail, with similar conclusions: no documents proving a biological relationship, no legal confirmation, and no charges filed despite years of scrutiny. Omar's Response Omar has dismissed the claim from the beginning, calling it 'absurd and offensive.' In response to a viral 2025 post that claimed to finally 'confirm' the brother marriage theory, she posted on X: 'The only thing that is confirmed is your stupidity. Hope that helps.' She has consistently argued that the allegations are politically motivated attacks rooted in racism, Islamophobia, and misogyny. The Final Word There is no verified evidence that Ilhan Omar married her brother. Multiple investigations, including one by the FBI, found no wrongdoing. Fact-checkers have labelled the claim unsubstantiated. Omar herself has firmly denied it. But the durability of the rumour says more about America's political landscape than it does about Omar's personal life. As long as outrage remains currency in US politics, the truth may remain beside the point.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Walz proposes cutting out nonprofit middlemen in tutoring tax credit
The Minnesota State Capitol, April 24, 2025. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer) Gov. Tim Walz's administration wants to eliminate a program that allows low-income parents to take out loans from nonprofit organizations for tutoring services, using their tax refunds as collateral. The proposal comes after the Reformer and Sahan Journal reported on mothers losing thousands of dollars from their tax refunds to pay debts to Success Tutoring and Achievers Tutoring for instruction they say their kids barely used and didn't benefit from. The mothers say they were told the tutoring was free and would help their kids recover from pandemic learning loss. Instead, they were outraged to discover their tax refunds had been transferred to a nonprofit organization, which in turn paid the companies for online tutoring with overseas instructors the kids couldn't understand. The Reformer interviewed three instructors based in the Philippines, one of whom said she was paid less than $5 an hour to supervise mostly Somali-American students as they worked through online modules in reading and math. The loan program was intended to help more low-income families take advantage of the K-12 Education Tax Credit, which reimburses families earning less than about $80,000 for three-quarters of their eligible educational expenses, up to $1,500 per child per year. Most eligible families can't afford to spend thousands of dollars up front and wait to be repaid when they get their tax refund the next year. But it also made low-income households vulnerable to losing money if they didn't submit the correct paperwork or the tutoring services they received were later deemed ineligible by the Department of Revenue. In those cases, the tax credit wouldn't be awarded — but the loan to the nonprofit would still be repaid directly from the Department of Revenue through the rest of their refund, including money from Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Families interviewed by the Reformer tried to recover the money missing from their refunds but found themselves trapped in a Kafkaesque maze, carrying stacks of different colored papers to the nonprofit lender, Minnesota Afterschool Advance, the state Department of Revenue, the Attorney General's Office and, finally, to the press. 'The benefits of receiving the credit early are diminished by the potential confusion for the taxpayer when it is time to file their tax return,' the Walz administration wrote in its budget proposal. The Walz administration also noted that less than 1% of eligible taxpayers who claimed the credit used a lender to advance them the funds, making it harder to justify the resources needed to oversee financial compliance and preapprove tutoring providers. That tax credit won't go away under the governor's proposal, but nonprofits and financial institutions will no longer be able to loan families money for tutoring, computers and books to be repaid by their tax refunds. Both Democrats and Republicans have introduced a slew of proposals aimed at clamping down on a crisis of fraud in state government, with hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly siphoned away from programs supposed to fund child nutrition, autism services, transportation and interpretation assistance. Minnesota Afterschool Advance, the organization that loaned the families money to pay for tutoring, said it's not issuing new loans in 2025 as they are 'focused on systems change.' 'MAA is aware of the governor's proposal. While we are not opposing it, MAA remains committed to working with government stakeholders to improve access to the Minnesota K-12 Education Tax Credit,' spokeswoman Lynne Matthews wrote in an email to the Reformer. Minnesota Afterschool Advance, which is a collaboration between Youthprise and Venn Foundation, was founded by Rep. Matt Norris, DFL-Blaine. Norris helped grow the program to $1.8 million in funding for educational programs in 2022, according to his campaign website. Norris, who left Minnesota Afterschool Advance when he entered the Legislature in 2023, said last year he was unaware of the mothers' complaints — and debt. Norris declined to comment on the governor's proposal through a spokesperson.
