Somali Socialist‑Democrat Enters Minneapolis Mayoral Race

Democrat Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh laid out his vision on Sunday to freeze rent, rapidly raise the minimum wage and refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

Fateh, who is currently a Minnesota state senator, posted a video to his X account calling to “protect” Minneapolis from a “hostile White House,” increase the minimum wage by $20 by 2028 and prohibit the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) from “interacting” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The mayoral candidate, who announced his candidacy in December, has a platform that strongly resembles Democrat New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s.

“Protecting all of our communities from Donald Trump means not letting MPD interact with ICE, whether it’s for an immigration raid or not. Our residents deserve a mayor who will stand up to Donald Trump and say, ‘no, not in our community,'” Fateh said.

Like Fateh, Mamdani threatened to potentially use his power as mayor to interfere with ICE’s operations that aim to detain and deport illegal immigrants who are convicted or charged with heinous criminal acts. President Donald Trump warned that Mamdani could be placed under arrest if he interferes with federal immigration enforcement during a July 1 roundtable in Florida.

Border czar Tom Homan has also warned that any government official who obstructs federal agents’ duties could be subject to prosecution.

Fateh claimed in his latest campaign video that 47% of calls to MPD can be “diverted to [a] non-police response” because officers are not social workers and cannot always provide the appropriate response. He called on passing “rent stabilization” to end so-called “price gouging” and he has further introduced a plan to “prevent rental evictions” by implementing a Just Cause eviction policy, according to his website.

Fateh represents Minnesota’s 62nd senate district, which includes south Minneapolis in Hennepin County. He is a child of Somalian immigrants and the first Muslim to serve in the state senate, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.

“As a renter in Stevens Square with a full-time job on top of my part-time Senator job, and a baby on the way, I want to keep money in working people’s pockets and circulating in our local economy. That’s why I’ll work to implement a $20 minimum wage by 2028 & rent stabilization,” Fateh wrote on X.

Mamdani has introduced raising New York City’s minimum wage to $30 and adding government-run programs such as free grocery stores and buses.

Mamdani’s win in New York City has raised the possibility of Fateh, along with the other left-wing challengers, hopes in defeating incumbent Democrat Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s reelection bid, according to Axios. Left-wing critics have accused Frey of cozying up to police and big business, particularly after the George Floyd riots, though they failed to unseat him in 2021.

After the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Black Lives Matter rioters descended into the city and caused an estimated $500 million in damages statewide as they called to “defund the police.” In May 2020, rioters breached and set the Third Precinct in Minneapolis on fire after police surrendered the area on May 28, 2020, The New York Times reported.