Hiiraan Online

Minneapolis (HOL) - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Seattle announced on May 2 that they removed Omer Abdi Mohamed, a 38-year-old Somali citizen, from the United States. In 2013, Mohamed was convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and sentenced to 12 years in prison and 20 years of supervision by the U.S. District Court District of Minnesota.

Mohamed's conviction was part of the broader "Operation Rhino" investigation, which focused on the recruitment of young Somali men to fight with al-Shabaab, a terrorist group in Somalia. The operation led to the charging of approximately 18 individuals, eight of whom were convicted. These individuals were not only involved in fighting with the terrorist group but also in facilitating travel, providing financial support, and participating in the recruitment process.

Operation Rhino focused on young Somali men from the Minneapolis area, who were recruited to fight with al-Shabaab in Somalia against the Transitional Federal Government and African Union peacekeeping troops. The first groups of recruits left the U.S. in late 2007, with more departures in 2008 and 2009. They stayed in safe houses in southern Somalia before joining a training camp led by senior al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda members from East Africa.

In 2008, some of these Minneapolis men participated in an al-Shabaab ambush on Ethiopian troops. Later that year, Shirwa Ahmed from Minneapolis became the first American suicide bomber in Somalia. Another recruit, Farah Mohamed Beledi, died in 2011 while attempting to detonate his suicide vest in Somalia.

ICE officers encountered Mohamed in 2018 while he was in federal prison in Illinois and placed an immigration detainer on him. After his release and transfer to ICE custody, an immigration judge ordered his removal to Somalia in March 2023. He was deported on April 28 without incident.

Drew H. Bostock, ICE Seattle Field Office Director, stated that Mohamed's removal shows that individuals supporting terrorism will not find safe haven in the U.S.

"ERO officers continue to keep our communities safe by using the best information available to find and remove public safety threats from our community."

In the 2022 fiscal year, ICE arrested 46,396 noncitizens with criminal histories, resulting in 198,498 associated charges and convictions, including assault, sex and sexual assault, weapons, homicide-related, and kidnapping offences.