WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is launching an intensive immigration enforcement operation primarily targeting hundreds of Somali immigrants living without permanent legal status in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, according to an official with knowledge of the operation and documents obtained by The New York Times.

The move comes as President Donald Trump has fixated on Somalis living in the United States, using increasingly inflammatory language to attack them. He stepped up his rhetoric in the wake of last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, even though the man suspected in the attack is an Afghan national.

The directive for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, came immediately after Trump’s remarks.

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