ST. PAUL, Minn. – Representative Keith Ellison visited Somalia this week on a humanitarian trip to discuss the status of Somali refugees and U.S. remittances with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and leaders of the new Somali government.
Representative Ellison is the first Member of Congress to visit Somalia since the United States recognized the Somali government earlier this year. Ellison traveled to Somalia with the American Refugee Committee, an organization based in his district, after receiving numerous requests from his constituents to visit Somalia.
Ellison also met with the country director of the American Refugee Committee, the Mayor of Mogadishu, the Somali Chamber of Commerce, and Somali-Americans from Minneapolis. Representative Ellison represents the 5th District of Minnesota, which includes Spring Lake Park and Fridley, and is home to one of the largest Somali populations in the United States. More than 32,000 Somali-Americans live in Minnesota, according to 2011 Census figures.
Pictured at right: Representative Keith Ellison and President Hassan Skeikh Mohamud
