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It<\/span> appears<\/span> that<\/span> President Donald Trump has chosen a minority to fixate on (in a racist way) this month, probably in part to keep everyone distracted from his <\/span>flopping approval numbers<\/span>. He\u2019s recently closed in on Minnesota\u2019s robust Somali community, calling them \u201c<\/span>garbage<\/span>\u201d and deploying ICE agents to Minneapolis to apprehend a handful of Somali men who he deems criminals. As a result, CNN reports, <\/span>hate mail has been pouring into inboxes at mosques and other majority-Somali-American spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n Leaders in Minnesota\u2019s Somali community responded swiftly; in addition to <\/span>protesting and alerting each other of ICE activity<\/span>, they also banded together to troll conservatives online \u2014 and they\u2019ve been doing so in the most hilarious way possible. Pulling from MAGA\u2019s playbook, <\/span>which relies heavily on colonial imagery<\/span> and reimagining history to benefit their agenda, some joked that Somalis were actually the first ever settlers of Minnesota.<\/span><\/p>\n Immigration policies aren\u2019t just politics \u2014 they\u2019re personal. At HuffPost, we explore the human stories behind the headlines, reporting on how immigration laws impact real people and communities. Support this vital coverage by joining our membership program today.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n One <\/span>AI video on TikTok<\/span> shows a group of Somalis finding out that Minnesota was promised to them in an ancient scripture (before they get there and realize it\u2019s a little too cold for them). <\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>post on X<\/span> declared that one of the founding fathers was actually a Somali man, who signed the Declaration of Independence and included a clause that awarded Minnesota to Somalis. <\/span><\/p>\n Another shows a filtered<\/span> and edited picture with the caption, \u201cMy cousin in Somalia is headed to Minnesota, his birthright trip to the promised lands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019re not sure how it all started, but the trolling has gloriously snowballed to reach way, way back into history \u2014 history, this time, reimagined in favor of the Somali American community. \u201cThis was the last dinosaur that walked on the planet!\u201d another <\/span>post with an AI picture<\/span> reads. \u201cThis photo was taken 3,000 years ago in what is now known as Minnesota, and they were last seen being ridden by Somalis there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Besides being creative and hilarious, this online movement is a juicy testament to how some marginalized communities, often robbed of their dignity and agency by bigoted law enforcement\u2019s use of humor to cope \u2014 and, as a bonus, to piss off some conservatives along the way. <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s becoming clear that one of the antidotes to the self-righteous rage of MAGA conservatives, who want immigrants to feel scared and hopeless, is to respond with light and humor. It\u2019s also a pretty ingenious way of fighting their oppression with the same logic they employ. If white Americans\u2019 European ancestors rolled up and called the United States home, why can\u2019t Somali Americans?<\/span><\/p>\n Just to clarify, significant Somali immigration to Minnesota began in the 1990s, when a civil war forced many families to flee their homes. Many refugees found jobs in a meatpacking plant near Minneapolis, and brought their families through government programs to eventually create the bustling <\/span>community you see today<\/span>. Just as millions of European migrants did in the 20th century, Somalis came to the U.S. out of necessity and to flee war. What\u2019s more, a vast majority of Somalis in Minnesota \u2014 about 95% \u2014 have U.S. citizenship, <\/span>per PBS<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s curious to watch this community, during the last few weeks being \u201c<\/span>singled out by an American president who has called attention to a massive and still-unfolding case of pandemic-era fraud,\u201d as CNN puts it, \u201cbut <\/span>embraced by the state<\/span> that offered them refuge from a vicious and bloody civil war decades ago.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n The attacks on Minnesota\u2019s Somali community fueled by Trump\u2019s anti-immigrant rhetoric reek of racism, xenophobia and ignorance. And this barrage of memes and parody videos are a delicious way of addressing that ignorance.<\/span><\/p>\n