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Somalian deputy calls non-Somali-born Minnesotans ‘foreigners’ and vows to serve his people

November 24, 2025 | | Print Article

A sheriff deputy’s message to his fellow Somali-born Minnesotans raised more than eyebrows over who he appeared to deem “foreigners.”

Following the victory of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D), viral comments from Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud (D), and the increasing presence of alleged Islamists throughout the United States, many Americans are understandably on alert over allegiances.

Prior to the failed mayor’s election bid in Minneapolis of Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh (D), one such alarming situation was presented when a sheriff speaking Somali appeared to prioritize his fellow East African-born locals in remarks that recently went viral.

Identified as Sheriff JJ in the video on North America Somali TV outside an event for Somalis in Minnesota, where Somali was spoken almost exclusively, the man’s remarks shared by Libs of TikTok suggested he was a “police officer for Somalians first in the U.S. and abroad.”

“As Somalian police officers, we work for you (Somalians) day and night, we stand for you and serve you,” read the translation appearing on the clip that Libs had shared from the account @Checkmatedsl, an independent journalist. “As you know, we came to this country as refugees. There were no Somalian police officers. So now that we have been hired, it means we are working for our own people (Somalians).”

The officer went on, “We understand the culture. We understand the language. We understand the way of life. That’s why we are different from foreigners or white officers.”

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“We help bridge that gap,” he contended before going on to add, “And know this … every Somalian police officer, whether you’re in the homeland or abroad, works for you (Somalians).”

Having garnered more than 1.2 million views since Saturday, the clip was reminiscent of not only many Somali figures, both within and outside of Minnesota, but also of many radical foreign-born figures who’ve expressed little interest in assimilating into American culture.

In addition to reports that the outcome of the Minneapolis mayoral race reflected a feud between Somali clans, with Fateh seemingly pledging his loyalty to Somalia, Maine state Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D) was called out by the Department of Homeland Security after remarks included her referring to “our country of Somalia” viewed as similar to past remarks from Somali-born Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (D).

Further, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara was made to walk back remarks about crimes committed by “groups of East African kids” coming from surrounding communities, which prompted a Change.org petition.

Meanwhile, President Trump announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in the program in Minnesota after allegations of fraud involving money laundering amounting to millions of taxpayer dollars potentially funneled to the terror group Al-Shabaab.

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Reactions to the sheriff’s video questioned the legitimacy of his office, while others contended that deportation of illegal aliens wasn’t enough, and it was time to start booting even those in the United States legally if they were acting against the interests of the country.

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Kevin Haggerty
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