Photo by John Cross: Mustafa Jamale, an aide to U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, speaks Monday at Minnesota State University during a panel talk on political activism in East African communities.
That is the subject of a panel discussion held this week at Minnesota State University.
MANKATO — For a time, Somalis in Minnesota had something of a suitcase mentality as many wondered if their time here was temporary, said Hashi Shafi of Minneapolis.
For that reason, and because it was something of a foreign concept, many people didn’t participate in American democracy.
“To unpack our suitcases takes time,” said Shafi, director of a civic education nonprofit in Minneapolis.
But unpack they have, as evidenced by the Somalis who are organizing their communities politically.
Shafi and two other East Africa natives visited Minnesota State University Monday for a panel discussion on political activism among Somali and Ethiopian immigrants.
It is very difficult to find population numbers for Somalis in the US now, so this next bit of information is useful:
There are an estimated 100,000 Somalis and 30,000 Ethiopians in Minnesota.
New readers might wish to visit this older post—Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis?—still one of our most-read posts at RRW. Guess who resettled the Somalis in Minnesota? If you guessed any one of these, you are right: US Conference of Catholic Bishops/Catholic Charities, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, and World Relief (evangelicals)!
As the Obamacare deadline approaches (whenever that is!), Somalis are signing up in large numbers for Medicaid in Minnesota thus taking the burden of their healthcare off “welcoming” Minnesota and placing it on US taxpayers.
Mosque visits were successful.
(St. Paul, MN) — Officials say efforts to enroll Somali immigrants for health coverage via Medicaid in Minnesota have been largely successful. Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson says with the help of the Somali Health Solutions group, enrollment expectations are being exceeded.
She says they had a goal of enrolling 500 before the end of march and have already enrolled over a thousand and many of them in public programs. Jesson says the outreach efforts have included events at mosques and community centers throughout the state.
She says the high numbers are especially encouraging, because a recent Minnesota Health Access Survey shows that people of color are more likely than whites to be uninsured.
How many Somalis in Minnesota?
For new readers, besides the hundreds/thousands?* of new refugees being resettled in Minnesota each year, in 2012 over 2000 secondary migrants(largely Somalis) went to live in Minnesota.
By the way, this 2011 postis still one of our top posts on most days—how did we get so many Somalis in Minneapolis?
*Until recently we could see the statistics at a US State Department contracted website about how many of which ethnic group were being resettled in every resettlement city and town in America, but the feds have removed from public view those website pages at WRAPSnet. Heck, I can’t even get on the website anymore! Your US Senator or Congressman can request those statistics, including the religions of the refugees resettled.
Secondary migrants are refugees who were settled first by the US State Department and a contractor in one state, but choose to move usually because they want to be with their own kind of people, or they find employment and/or social services more desirable elsewhere.
When we first began writing this blog in 2007, we were told it was impossible to track the secondary migrants because it’s America and no one has to report where they move to. Indeed over the last 40 years we have admitted over 3 million refugees, so no one could possibly track them. So, I was surprised to see that in ‘Key Indicators for Refugee Placement FY2014’ the feds are reporting that they have tracked secondary migrants, but surely (the numbers are so small) it must be the most recently resettled ones that are being tracked.
I don’t know what they mean when they say “states report” (page 9). Who in the “state” is keeping track, the non-government contractors, or some agency of state government?
Each year states report on the number of refugees and entrants who moved to a different state outside of their original resettlement location.
Top five states with the most out-migration are: Arizona, California, New York, Texas and Pennsylvania (but as a percentage of the huge numbers resettled in CA, NY and TX these numbers are probably not that meaningful).
States with the most in-migration of secondary migrants are: MN (by a huge margin), OH, Iowa, FL and OK.
Secondary migrants are surely the reason the St. Cloud, MN Somali population is booming.
Our previous posts on this important document, Key Indicators…., are here.
Reader ‘wisdombegins’ has sent us the comment below.
I wish I had time to do this topic justice, but please follow the links sent by our reader. A week or so ago we told youthat the MNGOP moved its offices to be near “everyday Minnesotans.”
And, don’t forget the Center for Security Policy’s recent report about the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence on the GOP, here.
And, just this week the Republican-dominated Virginia legislature commendedthe notorious Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. So what is happening to the GOP?
Everything about his life has been taxpayer funded! The reason he wants school choice is because he is a believer in taxpayer funded Islamic Charter Schools! That is his primary objective. This is truly Creeping Sharia!
The Republican Party needs to ask him how he feels about: 1. Separation of Church and State 2. Upholding laws that protect young girls from Genital Mutilation 3. Voter ID laws 4. Enforcing laws against the practice of Polygamy
Maybe you can think of some more carefully worded questions that would reveal Mr. Askar’s true objectives.
Readers, especially our new ones! This is a good time to visit a very old postby another commenter, Avi, about the Muslim Brotherhood’s quiet Jihad in Minnesota.
Update February 20th: Just thought you might be interested in a comment this post received on Facebook, edit of F-word is mine:
Liban Abdullahi Well done, more muslims must go to united states we will invade back as you invaded our muslim countries, killing innocent and torturing guantanamo bay and you are sayind democratic.. F*** Off Democracy.. F*** Off United Nation..
A Somali blogger from St. Cloud says in his giddy report, here, that the population has expanded rapidly in last 5 years and is changing the face of St. Cloud. Emphasis below is mine:
In 2010, St. Cloud students protest “systemic racism!” Professor and community organizer Luke Tripp said, the same “conservative white” mind-set led to the election of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater. http://wardheernews.com/News_10/Jan/23_Somali_students_protest_against_systemic_racism.html
The number of Somalia living in St. Cloud, MN, is growing. There is no official number of how many Somalis are living in the city now, but the unofficial estimate could be as high as 25,000 Somalis living in St. Cloud and the surrounding cities, like Waite Park, St. Joseph, Sartell and Sauk Rapids.
First Somalis moved to St Cloud in 2000, but about 50 percent of Somalis moved to the city in the recent years, from 2009 to 2013. [Lutheran Family Services opened its satellite resettlement office there!—ed]
In the streets of St. Cloud, Somalis are visible and can be easily seen, especially Somali women with their colorful traditional clothing.
[….]
Many Somalis work in assembly line jobs [meatpacking—ed], but a great number of Somalis got educated and they work in white collar jobs. Others opened their own businesses: medical transportation companies, homecare companies and daycare centers. [Home health and medical transport are companies rife with healthcare fraud as we have reported on many occasions—ed]
About 15 percent of the local school district are Somali, and a huge segment of Somalis are in the pipeline of the education process: in high schools, in colleges and in universities.
The biggest challenge facing Somalis in St. Cloud is housing, especially for families whose size is more than eight: there are families who consist of about 10 or 12 family members, there is no housing structures in the city designed for this kind of family sizes.
We have a huge archive, going back to at least 2008, on St. Cloud Somalis, here.
In 2010, Lutheran Social Services began resettling Somalis in St. Cloud directly from camps in Africa, here.
And, then I found this (below) at Friends of Refugees from 2010 (the St. Cloud Times link has disappeared, but blogger Chris Coen quoted the story):
Lutheran Social Services: Let’s put the Muslims together in St. Cloud!
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota has worked with refugees in St. Cloud since 2002, when it opened a refugee employment office. [I’ve told you these supposedly religious groups are headhunters for big business in need of cheap immigrant laborers!—ed] This year, the agency ratcheted up its efforts by establishing a refugee resettlement office in St. Cloud.
The office has contracted to resettle 100 refugees — mostly Somalis and a few Iraqis — in the St. Cloud area this year and in each of the next two years.
Jennifer Jimenez-Wheatley heads the new office, helping refugees find places to live, work, shop and worship. She helps them learn to speak and write English. She coordinates the resettlement process with local school, government and nonprofit agencies.
Iraqis too! One big happy Muslim melting pot!
Somalis have established a presence in St. Cloud, but the handful of Iraqis she’s helping settle here won’t be joining such a large community from their home country. Jimenez-Wheatley says St. Cloud’s refugee advisory committee — composed of city, school district and nonprofit officials — decided resettling Iraqis here made sense in part because they share the Muslim faith with the Somali community.
For fun, be sure to check out how rich the leaders of Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota become while bringing the joys of diversity to your cities and towns!
Hey, Wyoming, isn’t it the Lutherans who want to bring change to Casper and Gillette?
Secondary migrants are refugees who were settled first by the US State Department and a contractor in one state, but choose to move usually because they want to be with their own kind of people, or they find employment and/or social services more desirable elsewhere.
I wish I had time to do this topic justice, but please follow the links sent by our reader. A week or so ago 