Somali leader Omar Jamal detained by ICE in downtown Minneapolis

According to a Facebook post by his attorney, Abdiqani Jabane, Jamal is being held at the Freeborn County jail in Albert Lea, which is being used to hold ICE detainees.

As of Friday evening, ICE officials had not released additional details about Jamal’s detention, and it was unclear what prompted Thursday’s action. An agency spokesperson did not respond to phone or email messages.

Jamal, 52, came to the United States more than 20 years ago as a refugee fleeing famine and war in Somalia and has been a highly visible figure in Minnesota’s Somali community.

Court records show Jamal was convicted of immigration fraud in Tennessee in 2005 and sentenced to one year of probation, which included referral to federal immigration officials for possible deportation. His appeal was denied, but he remained in the United States.

Jamal’s current immigration status was not immediately clear, and his attorney did not respond to follow-up phone and email messages.

In Minnesota, Jamal built his profile as the executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, a nonprofit that sought to help Somali immigrants navigate the legal system. He became a go-to figure for local journalists, weighing in on issues ranging from police shootings to federal terrorism investigations. While some in the community questioned whether he spoke for them, Jamal often said his role was simply to help those struggling with immigration or law enforcement issues.

In 2020, Jamal joined the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office as a civilian community service officer. Steve Linders, a spokesman for the department, said Friday in an emailed statement that Jamal has played “an integral role in helping us liaison with the Somali community in Minnesota, which has the largest population of Somalis in the country.”