Tom Emmer criticized for comments about Minnesota Somali community - InForum | Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo news, weather and sports
Emmer’s comments at a conservative event prompted criticism from a House candidate and a fellow Minnesota representative.
SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Brainerd Dispatch, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
Brainerd Dispatch is an established local-news publisher, and the article identifies its author and attributes the reporting to St. Cloud LIVE. The text includes direct quotations and notes that Emmer’s spokesperson did not immediately respond.
- Source type — Local-news publication with a regional reporting focus.
- Author attribution — A named reporter is identified, with an affiliation to St. Cloud LIVE.
- Editorial standards — Reports direct quotations from the central figures and identifies an unanswered request for comment.
- Transparency — The story identifies the event, speakers and relevant campaign context.
The article provides direct quotations from Emmer and his critics and gives campaign context. It notes that Emmer’s spokesperson did not respond, but does not include a response from him to the criticism or additional independent perspectives on the dispute.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The story quotes Emmer’s remarks and his earlier questionnaire response, while also including criticism from Chapin and Omar. It reports that Emmer’s spokesperson did not respond, leaving no direct reply to the criticism in the article.
- Source diversity — Features the central figure’s comments and responses from two critics.
- Counterarguments presented — Emmer’s own remarks and questionnaire response appear, but there is no response to the criticism.
- Opinion vs reporting — The article uses attributed statements rather than presenting the author’s conclusions as fact.
The article reports Emmer’s remarks and critics’ responses in attributed language. Its emphasis on criticism does not, by itself, establish a discernible political lean.
- Language tone — Mostly neutral reporting language; evaluative descriptions are attributed to speakers.
- Source selection — Includes Emmer’s remarks and questionnaire response, as well as responses from Chapin and Omar.
- Framing — Centers the reported comments and the criticism they prompted.
Republished with credit
Republished from InForum, with credit to the original publisher.
41 stories · 72–75 · updated Oct 6, 2026
This is InForum's own score, and this article is credited to InForum. The host score in the Source Check is Brainerd Dispatch's.
Rep. Tom Emmer told a conservative audience that immigrants who do not assimilate should “go the hell back” where they came from, drawing criticism from House candidate Doug Chapin and Rep. Ilhan Omar. Emmer is seeking another term in 2026.
At a Washington event hosted by the Faith & Freedom Coalition, Rep. Tom Emmer criticized what he described as a lack of assimilation among Minnesota’s Somali community and said immigrants who do not assimilate should return to where they came from. He also said Minnesotans were reluctant to speak out for fear of being called racist or Islamophobic. Emmer has previously linked public assistance fraud cases to members of the Somali community, a characterization critics say unfairly paints the broader community.–
House candidate Doug Chapin criticized Emmer’s remarks, saying they dehumanized an entire community. Rep. Ilhan Omar, responding on X, said she had assimilated “all the way to Congress” and that Emmer still told her to go back where she came from. Emmer is seeking another term in 2026 and faces Republican primary challengers Mike Foley and Chris Corey; his spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.–
Community verdict
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People in this story
SWIPE →U.S. representative from Minnesota and House Majority Whip whose comments about immigrants and Minnesota’s Somali community drew criticism
Republican primary challenger to Emmer
U.S. representative from Minnesota who responded to Emmer’s comments
Democratic House candidate who criticized Emmer’s remarks
Part of a bigger story
5 OUTLETSTom Emmer said Somali immigrants who do not assimilate should return to where they came from, prompting criticism from Minnesota Democrats. Center outlets focus on Emmer’s remarks and the criticism they prompted, generally pairing his words with responses from Democrats; KIMT News 3 also compares them with his 2016 comments about Somali assimilation.
- ARTICLES
- 5
- OUTLETS
- 5
- AVG CRED
- 76
- Twincities · Rep. Tom Emmer tells Somalis who don't assimilate to 'go the hell back'
- FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul · Rep. Tom Emmer faces backlash for telling Somalis to 'go the hell back to where they came from'
- Hartford Courant · Rep. Tom Emmer says Somalis should 'go the hell back to where they came from'
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