“Where would America be without us?” A community of refugees is stunned by White House limits

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The woman remembers when she first moved to the neighborhood more than 20 years ago, and the streets were full of empty storefronts and seemingly relentless poverty.

Today, Minneapolis' Lake Street corridor is jammed with businesses, many owned by Somali refugees.

“Look at what we did around here,” said Nasra Hassan, a community health worker whose family came to Minneapolis fleeing Somalia's civil war, speaking one day after the Trump administration slashed the number of refugees allowed into the United States. “Because of us this place is thriving.”

Minnesota’s large Somali community was among the immigrant groups that helped revitalize the Lake Street corridor, which has long called out to newcomers to America. But scattered across the city are other communities an