Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) is touting Somali migrants as the CEOs of the future, casting criticism of the community as a backlash against the kind of economy and entrepreneurship they are allegedly building.
Speaking at a Somali Networking Night event, Frey claimed Somali migrants contribute so greatly to Minneapolis and insisted the city is proud to host them. According to Breitbart, the Democrat mayor framed Somalis not as a struggling immigrant group but as an emerging economic class whose success is provoking resentment.
Frey went further, asserting that the Trump administration targeted the whole community of Somali migrants, portraying federal scrutiny as an attack on our incredible Somali people. You saw quite directly back in January and February a federal government that was coming after a whole community, and our incredible Somali people. I think one of the reasons that they were coming after you is they saw the kind of economy and entrepreneurship that youre helping to build, Frey said.
He suggested that demographic change at the top of corporate America is inevitable and that this shift explains federal concern. They saw suddenly that the CEOs of the future are not all gonna look like me. The CEOs of the future are going to be from a thousand different backgrounds, he continued, explicitly celebrating a leadership class that departs from traditional American norms.
Frey also insisted that Somali migrants are already major players in business, not merely future prospects. Suddenly, you all are creeping up in brilliant fashion. Youre not just the CEOs and entrepreneurs of tomorrow, but of right now, Frey said.
You are showing that, he added, doubling down on the narrative that this particular migrant community is an economic engine for the city. His remarks came despite mounting concerns from conservatives about fraud and abuse tied to federal programs in heavily Somali areas.
In January, President Donald Trump told reporters that The Somalians are ripping off our country, to the tune of, looks like $19 billion, but thats only what they can find, vowing to cut off funds to the Somali-related fraud corruption in states such as California, Illinois, and Minnesota. His comments followed work by citizen journalists who had exposed potential Somali fraud of taxpayer funding in Washington, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
In December 2025, citizen journalist Nick Shirley released a video visiting multiple Minnesota childcare centers that had reportedly received millions in federal aid, yet appeared devoid of children. As Democrats like Frey celebrate Somali migrants as model entrepreneurs, conservatives argue that the unanswered questions about alleged large-scale fraud demand accountability before more taxpayer dollars are funneled into these networks.
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