Maine Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D-South Portland), a Somali immigrant and Maine politician, has garnered national attention in recent days after a years-old clip re-surfaced showing her appearing to express her ongoing prioritization of her home country even after she became the Mayor of South Portland in 2021.
Those comments have come back into the limelight as Omar Fateh, the son of Somali immigrants, has recently won the Democratic primary for mayor in Minneapolis, Minnesota — a heavily blue city where the party’s nomination gives him a strong chance of winning the November election.
“How can the politics in Somalia can, you know, resonate what we have here in the United States the democracy that we have. How can you help us uh, uh, you know, be a better country and build back what we used to have back in long time ago. So hopefully we will be able to help our country, our former country Somalia [sic],” said Rep. Dhalac speaking on ABC’s Good Morning America after becoming the first female Somali-born mayor in the U.S.
Dhalac has repeatedly reenforced her apparent loyalty to Somalia and, as recently as 2024, while she was serving in the Maine Legislature, repeatedly referred to Somalia as her land while visiting the African country, and apparently vowed to use her political position to lobby for Somalia’s interests, rather than those of her constituents in South Portland.
“I’m very happy to be with my country, my people, my elected members of parliament and ministers, my state of SSC Khatuma, State of Somalia. We’re going to defend our land,” said Dhalac, according to a translation of an address delivered in Somali.
“God willing, I’ll be lobbying to help our country [Somalia] even if I do that lobbying for free. I’m ready to do that. Ready!,” she added, “I’ll even try to put together some organization to help our people here.”
Dhalac previously worked as the assistant director at the pro-illegal immigrant Gateway Community Services non-profit, which improperly billed MaineCare for $800,000 worth of taxpayer funded medical reimbursements.
While Dhalac served in that position, the director, Somali-born Abdullahi Ali admitted that he was actively raising money for a paramilitary group in Jubaland, Somalia, which he hoped to lead as the region’s president, though his political aspirations were not ultimately successful.
Dhalac also had close ties with disgraced former Office of New Americans Director Tarlan Ahmadov, who resigned from his position after The Maine Wire exposed his extreme anti-Armenian hatred. Dhalac and Ali both took a trip organized by Ahmadov to Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, which was formerly Armenian territory invaded by Azerbaijan.
[RELATED: The Sinister Side of Tarlan Ahmadov’s Shusha Junket…]
Dhalac’s controversial statements resurfaced in the wake of the radical Somali Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh’s (D) victory in the Minneapolis Democratic Mayoral primary.
Fateh, often compared with New York City’s radical Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, has vowed to resist President Donald Trump, implement “carbon fees,” expand “public ownership of housing,” and increase the minimum wage, among a slew of other radical policies.
[RELATED: Troy Jackson Fashions Himself Maine’s Own Zohran Mamdani, Is Jubilant About NYC Socialist’s Win…]
Fateh, who was born in the U.S. to Somali immigrants, has nevertheless made comments similar to Dhalac’s suggesting his loyalty to his ancestral home.
“I understand that our Somali communities are connected to each other, here in Minnesota and back home, and ask for your support. There’s always been a link between our community here as well as back home, and I’m running to bridge that gap and unite all of us and represent all of us,” said Fateh at a campaign event.
In that clip, the mayoral candidate appears to suggest that he is running to represent the nation of Somalia, not just the city of Minneapolis.
He also previously claimed that it is white people, rather than illegal immigrants, who pose a threat to national security.
Dhalac has more in common with Fateh than just a common ethnic background and similar rhetoric.
She previously appeared on a panel with Fateh, and claimed that she had wanted to move to Minnesota, according to a translation of comments she delivered in Somali.
