Tom Emmer

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U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer told a conservative audience on Thursday, June 25, that immigrants who do not assimilate “should go the hell back to where they came from.”

Speaking at an event in Washington for the Faith & Freedom Coalition, a conservative advocacy group, the Minnesota Republican said some in the state are reluctant to speak out about Minnesota’s Somali community because they fear being labeled racist or Islamophobic.

@cspanofficial

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the third-ranking House Republican, said Somali immigrants should either assimilate or “go the hell back to where they came from.” “Sometimes Minnesotans are so afraid that you’re going to call us a racist, you’re going to call us an Islamophobe, you’re going to call us some name that we just don’t want to get into that fight. You know what, I would argue that I never did care, but I’m done being careful, even the least bit careful,” he said Thursday at a Faith and Freedom Coalition town hall on Capitol Hill. “I don’t really care where you come from, but if you come to this great country, you have to understand you’re coming here to be an American. I don’t care — Italian, Polish, you know, Somali. Okay? But they don’t assimilate, and if they don’t assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who was born in Somalia, responded: “I assimilated all the way to Congress and this idiot still tells me to go back where I came from.” Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) also called the remarks “racist.” tomemmer ilhanomar somalia cspan

♬ original sound – C-SPAN – C-SPAN

“Minnesotans are so afraid that you’re gonna call us ‘a racist,’ you’re gonna call us ‘an Islamophobe,’ you’re going to call us some name, that we just don’t want to get into that fight,” said Emmer, the majority whip in the U.S. House of Representatives. “You know what? I would argue that I never did care, but I’m done being careful, even the least bit careful.”

Emmer, who since 2015 has represented Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, went on to criticize what he described as a lack of assimilation among members of the state’s Somali community.

“And if they don’t assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from,” he said.

Emmer has previously linked Minnesota’s recent public assistance fraud cases to members of the Somali community, drawing criticism from opponents who argue his comments unfairly characterize the broader community.

“I’m not afraid to stand up for what is right,” Emmer wrote in recent candidate questionnaire response to St. Cloud LIVE. “Whether it’s demanding answers from (Gov. Tim) Walz and (Minnesota Attorney General Keith) Ellison about their involvement in fraud or calling out Somali fraudsters who have ripped us off for too long, I’ll always fight for the men and women of our great state.”

Doug Chapin, a Democrat running to unseat Emmer, released a statement Thursday night criticizing Emmer’s remarks.

“If you’re more concerned about being called a racist than about saying racist things, you’ve lost sight of what public service is supposed to be,” Chapin said. “The problem isn’t that people might call you a racist. The problem is that using your position of authority to make statements dehumanizing an entire community makes you a racist.”

Emmer is seeking another term in 2026 and faces Republican primary challengers Mike Foley and Chris Corey. Early voting for the Aug. 11 primary is ongoing now.

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the nation’s first Somali American members of Congress and a frequent target of criticism from Emmer and other Republicans, also responded to the comments on X.

“I assimilated all the way to Congress and this idiot still tells me to go back where I came from,” Omar wrote.

A spokesperson for Emmer did not respond to a request for comment Friday.