Democratic socialist and Minneapolis mayoral hopeful Omar Fateh says his first priority in office would be protecting illegal immigrants from President Donald Trump’s “hostile federal government.”
Fateh made the statement during an interview with KARE 11 News in Minnesota, doubling down on his identity as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but denying his policies are “radical.”
“Day one, if you were elected, what would be some of your top two or three priorities for the city?” the reporter asked in an interview aired Friday.
“The first I would say would be a hostile federal government, with not only Donald Trump in office, but he essentially has a trifecta with both chambers of Congress and the Supreme Court. A lot of our neighbors, especially our undocumented residents are very concerned,” Fateh responded.
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The candidate went on to say public safety would be his second priority, but he declined to endorse the Democratic Socialist platform of abolishing the police entirely.
“That’s not going to happen, absolutely,” Fateh said of abolition. “What we envision is a public safety system that works for everyone, and that means we have an accountable police force and a police force that is an important part of our public safety system, but making sure that when we call 911 we get an appropriate response.”
Fateh argued that half of 911 calls in Minneapolis “don’t need to be responded to with armed officers.” He argued funding should be directed toward social workers and others who can respond to such calls instead.
Fateh secured the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the name for the Democratic Party in Minnesota, in July. The party endorsed him over incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, also a Democrat. Frey is running for a third term and has decided to stay in the race.
Some have dubbed Fateh the “Mamdani of Minneapolis,” referencing New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Both are the children of immigrants, with Fateh hailing from Somalia and Mamdani from Uganda.
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Fateh has previously pledged that, if elected mayor, he will raise city’s minimum wage, increase the supply of affordable housing, and combat what he calls police violence. Similar to Mamdani, Fateh calls for replacing some of the police department’s duties with community-led alternatives. He also wants to issue legal IDs to undocumented immigrants.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
