Somalia refugee Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) deleted a Juneteenth post on slavery Thursday after being called out for slavery currently being practiced in her home country. A different Juneteenth message by Omar that did not mention slavery remains online.
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Omar originally posted, “160 years ago on June 19, 1865, slavery ended in this country. Today, we celebrate Black freedom, resilience, and achievement, and continue the work to root out systematic racism from our policies and institutions.”
At 1:10 p.m. EDT, MAGA poster Gunther Eagleman replied, “Somalia still has slaves. Ilhan should go fight to free her own people.”
Somalia still has slaves. Ilhan should go fight to free her own people. https://t.co/12V0fzaP52
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) June 19, 2025
At 1:23 p.m., Eagleman posted, “She deleted her post.”
She deleted her post https://t.co/Q2Cm7Flt3R pic.twitter.com/cQGTquNsIy
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) June 19, 2025
Another Juneteenth post by Omar remains, “On Juneteenth, we remember that freedom is not always swift but it is always worth the fight. It’s a powerful reminder of how long justice can take to reach those who deserve it most. Today, we celebrate Black freedom, resilience, and achievement, and continue the work to root out systematic racism from our policies and institutions.”
On Juneteenth, we remember that freedom is not always swift but it is always worth the fight. It’s a powerful reminder of how long justice can take to reach those who deserve it most.
Today, we celebrate Black freedom, resilience, and achievement, and continue the work to root…
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) June 19, 2025
Excerpt from a 2024 State Department report on human trafficking in Somalia:
IDPs, minority populations, people residing in al-Shabaab territory, and Somali children working in informal sectors remain the most vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor. Some Somalis willingly surrender custody of their children to people with whom they share familial ties or clan linkages who may subsequently exploit some of these children in forced labor or sex trafficking. Traffickers may exploit children in forced labor in agriculture, domestic work, herding, selling or portering khat, crushing stones, fishing, forced begging, or construction.
A 2023 report by Walk Free estimated nearly 100,000 enslaved people in Somalia:
Truth! pic.twitter.com/xysCkl7sYA
— Central Texas Patriot (@centtexpatriot) June 19, 2025
