Not since Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), whose district includes one of the nation’s largest Somali-American communities, described the group as the backbone of America have we heard such over-the-top praise for Somalis.
But Boston Mayor Michelle Wu came pretty close during remarks at a weekend solidarity rally for her city’s Somali-American community. Here’s what the progressive mayor had to say:
You cannot talk about any achievement that the city of Boston has had in safety, jobs, and economic development, in education, without talking about the Somali community that has lifted our city up. We are proud and we are grateful for our Somali community and for our Somali-American neighbors.Boston and the country are clear that hate has no place in our society. We will use every attack to actually strengthen and expand the services available to empower and work alongside our community members who are already doing so much good in the world and setting an example for the rest of the country.
Perhaps the following response to Wu’s comments was the best:
Wu’s remarks were disingenuous at best, and they leave us wondering precisely what achievements “in safety, jobs, economic development, [and] education” she was referring to. For one thing, Somalis haven’t been in the U.S. for very long.
For another, the Somali community in Boston is quite small. The X user below estimates that Somalis represent less than a quarter of 1% of the city’s population. I found slightly higher numbers — several sites put the total at 8,000 — which would make them a tad over 1% of the city’s population. Still, it’s tough to imagine how such a tiny fraction of residents made such an outsized impact on the city in such a relatively short period of time.
More confounding still was Wu’s assessment that the Somali community has lifted the city up. In fact, the opposite appears to be true. Large swaths of Somalis in America currently rely on some form of public assistance.
While I’m sure there are many Somalis who sincerely want to raise themselves and their families up through hard work, it is difficult to forget that numerous others have engaged in fraud on an industrial scale.
It seems that the vehemently anti-ICE mayor will say anything to protect the residents of the sanctuary city she runs. She has repeatedly defied the Trump administration’s attempts to deport illegal immigrants from Boston. When the situation came to a head in August, she said she would “not stop shielding illegals.”
At the time, Wu told NBC10, “Unlike the Trump administration, Boston follows the law. … Boston does not back down to bullies. Boston does not back down in the face of threats.”
Speaking at a press conference on the impasse, she doubled down on her stance.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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