What percentage of Somali Minnesotans participate in SNAP compared with other immigrant groups in Minnesota?
Executive summary
Available reporting does not provide a clear percentage that shows how many Somali Minnesotans participate in SNAP compared with other immigrant groups in Minnesota; state and national coverage describe large Somali populations in Minnesota (roughly 107,000 people of Somali descent) and note that about 440,000 Minnesotans receive SNAP, but none of the provided sources break SNAP participation down by Somali or other specific immigrant-origin groups [1] [2]. Recent federal policy changes and eligibility shifts have removed about 9,000 refugees and immigrants in Minnesota from SNAP eligibility, a change that affects immigrant communities but is not disaggregated by nationality in the available reporting [3] [2].
1. What the available data actually say
The sources used here report overall SNAP scale in Minnesota — roughly 440,000 Minnesotans receive SNAP benefits in an average month — and provide statewide context for policy changes and program administration [2]. They also report population estimates for Minnesotans of Somali descent — about 107,000 people in Minnesota as of 2024 per Census-related reporting [1]. None of the provided pieces, however, present a direct percentage or rate showing SNAP participation specifically for Somali Minnesotans or a side‑by‑side comparison with other immigrant groups in Minnesota [2] [1].
2. Why you won’t find a Somali-specific SNAP rate in these stories
News reporting in this set focuses on immigration enforcement, Temporary Protected Status, fraud allegations and statewide program impacts — not on fine-grained benefit-roll demographics by nationality. Coverage of federal enforcement targeting Somalis and political rhetoric centers on population size and legal status questions, not on SNAP participation rates broken out by country of origin [4] [5] [6]. Journalistic and government summaries here mention aggregate SNAP caseloads and the number of refugees/immigrants affected by eligibility changes, but they stop short of publishing Somali‑specific participation shares [3] [2].
3. Policy changes that complicate any Somali‑vs‑other‑immigrant comparison
Federal legislative changes (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” per reporting) and administrative policy have recently altered SNAP eligibility for immigrants and refugees in Minnesota; one story cites that 9,000 refugees and immigrants in Minnesota are no longer eligible as a result [3]. That shift reduces the base population eligible for SNAP among immigrants and makes any snapshot comparison across groups unstable without updated, disaggregated administrative data from state agencies [3] [2].
4. What sources you would need to answer the question precisely
To calculate the percent of Somali Minnesotans on SNAP and compare it with other immigrant groups you need: (a) count of Somali‑origin Minnesotans by immigration status and household composition, (b) administrative SNAP participant records disaggregated by nativity or country of origin (or a reliable survey crosswalk), and (c) time‑matched denominators that reflect recent policy changes removing eligibility for some immigrants. None of these disaggregated figures appear in the current reporting set [2] [1] [3].
5. Competing narratives and hidden agendas in current reporting
Coverage of Somalis in Minnesota in these sources is framed within high‑stakes political conflict — enforcement operations, attacks on Temporary Protected Status, and allegations of fraud — which can create pressure to conflate immigration status, criminality and benefit use without granular evidence [4] [6] [5]. Some stories emphasize the size and civic presence of the Somali community to push back against punitive rhetoric [1] [7]. Others focus on investigations and alleged misuse of public funds, a framing that may implicitly suggest broad community culpability even though available reporting does not provide population‑level benefit rates [6].
6. Bottom line and next reporting steps
Bottom line: current reporting gives you the statewide SNAP caseload (about 440,000 Minnesotans) and Somali population estimates (about 107,000 in Minnesota), and describes recent policy changes that removed roughly 9,000 refugees/immigrants from eligibility — but it does not provide a Somali‑specific SNAP participation percentage or a direct comparison with other immigrant groups [2] [1] [3]. To produce the comparison you asked for, request disaggregated SNAP participation data from Minnesota Department of Human Services or USDA/ER S researchers, or seek peer‑reviewed survey analyses that explicitly match nativity/country‑of‑origin to SNAP receipt; those data sources are not present in the reporting reviewed here [2] [8].
Limitations: This article uses only the provided sources. If you want, I can draft a data request template you could send to Minnesota agencies or point to likely public datasets (USDA ERS, state DHS) to pursue the exact breakdown.