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Encyclopedia of American Immigration, 2nd Edition

Somali immigrants

by Aaron Gulyas

Significance: The Somali diaspora—the population of those born in Somalia who reside elsewhere— numbers nearly two million people. Over 170,000 members of the diaspora live in the United States, the largest number outside of Yemen. Somali immigration to the United States is largely concentrated in a few metropolitan areas and, while Somalis had been immigrating to the United States for decades, the rate of immigration increased dramatically starting in the 1990s due to the collapse of the Somali government. From the 1990 to 2015, the size of the Somali diaspora doubled owing to the strife in Somalia.

Early Somali Immigration

Although there was a small amount of Somali immigration to the United States during Somalia’s colonial period (mostly consisting of sailors from the colony of British Somaliland), the number of immigrants increased after the 1960 creation of an independent nation of Somalia. Many of these immigrants were students attending American universities and a considerable number of them returned to their homeland following their education.

Somali Immigration Since the 1990S

In 1991, the military government of Somalia collapsed in the face of resistance from a number of rebel groups throughout the country. Somalia descended into a civil war which is still, as of this writing, ongoing. Thousands of Somalis fled the conflict, many settling in nations in the Middle East, but with large numbers moving to the United States as well. The three major areas where Somali refugees and immigrants have settled within the United States have been Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, the Columbus, Ohio, area, and the Seattle/Tacoma, Washington, area; but the Twin Cities of Minnesota have the largest number of Somalia-born residents. By 2013, Somali Americans made up the largest percentage of foreign-born residents in Minneapolis and the second largest in St. Paul. There had been a small Somali population in Minnesota for decades, making it an attractive destination for Somalis fleeing the violence of Civil War. By 2002, Minnesota was home to the largest number of Somali residents in the United States.

Somali Americans have established a number of community organizations in states where they have settled. These organizations, such as the Somali Community Access Network in Columbus, Ohio, and the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, provide support and assistance to both newly arrived and long-established Somali immigrants. In Minnesota, Somali immigrants own over 600 businesses, mostly concentrated in Minneapolis/St. Paul. In Ohio, which is home to the second largest number of Somali immigrants in the United States, they have experienced less integration into that community than Somali Americans in Minneapolis/St. Paul, owing to both language barriers and a less-developed infrastructure for community support. In both cities, due to their Islamic faith, the Somali American population faced increased discrimination and suspicion following the 9/11 terror attacks.

As anti-immigrant sentiment increased during the early twenty-first century, Somali immigrants and refugees were the subject of rhetorical attacks from immigration opponents who falsely claimed that the Barack Obama administration resettled tens of thousands of Somali refugees in Minnesota—particularly in the Congressional district of Ilhan Omar, the first Somali American member of the House of Representatives.

Further Reading

1 

Abdi, Cawo M. “The Newest African-Americans: Somali Struggles for Belonging,” Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies 11, no. 12, (2012). Digital Commons, digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1122&context=bildhaan.

2 

Brown, Matthew. “Fact Check: Obama Did Not Resettle 70,000 Somali Immigrants in Minnesota.” USA Today. August 13, 2020. www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/13/fact-check-obama-didnt-resettle-70-k-somali-immigrants-minnesota/5547385002.

3 

Chambers, Stefanie. Somalis in the Twin Cities and Columbus: Immigrant Incorporation in New Destinations. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2017.

4 

Makes, Allison. “’This Is Personal’: Minnesota’s Somali Americans Fear Reckoning in Second Trump Term.” Foreign Policy, September 22, 2020, foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/22/minnesota-somali-americans-trump-biden-2020-election.

5 

Rao, Maya. “How Did the Twin Cities Become a Hub for Somali Immigrants?” Star Tribune, June 21, 2019, www.startribune.com/how-did-the-twin-cities-become-a-hub-for-somali-immigrants/510139341.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Gulyas, Aaron. "Somali Immigrants." Encyclopedia of American Immigration, 2nd Edition, edited by Michael Shally-Jensen, Salem Press, 2021. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=AmImm2e_0523.
APA 7th
Gulyas, A. (2021). Somali immigrants. In M. Shally-Jensen (Ed.), Encyclopedia of American Immigration, 2nd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Gulyas, Aaron. "Somali Immigrants." Edited by Michael Shally-Jensen. Encyclopedia of American Immigration, 2nd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2021. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.