Minnesota Republican Sen. Jim Abeler was frustrated after hearing President Donald Trump call Somalis “garbage” and say he wants them out of the U.S.

Abeler decided to write Trump a letter, admonishing the president for his comments and inviting him to come to Minnesota, meet with Somali people and see for himself what they’re like.

“The Somalis I know, and I know many, are nothing of the sort,” the Anoka senator wrote Thursday. “They are businesspeople, drivers, hourly workers supporting their families, investors, nurses, students and clerics.

“No man, woman or child is more or less in the eyes of our Lord God most high, and none of them are trash.”

At the end of a Tuesday cabinet meeting, Trump went on a rant about Somalis in Minnesota, a community he has repeatedly targeted in recent weeks over accusations of fraud and money laundering.

“These are people that do nothing but complain,” Trump said. “We don’t want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.”

Abeler told the Minnesota Star Tribune he was troubled by Trump’s comments, as well as “the fallout.”

“There’s too much acrimony,” he said. “I don’t like that part about politics.”

Trump’s comments were followed by a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity targeting Somalis in the Twin Cities. The Department of Homeland Security said more than a dozen men, including several Somalis, have been arrested in December in Minneapolis as part of what it calls “Operation Metro Surge.”

Taken together, the president’s actions threaten GOP inroads in the Somali community, which totals about 108,000 in Minnesota, per state estimates.

Abeler said he didn’t post the letter online, but his assistant emailed a copy to a Somali friend who has been upset about Trump’s xenophobic attacks on her community.

The friend posted it online, and it took off on social media, with Abeler getting comments all the way from Somalia.

“It’s all organic,” he said. “It’s amazing what a little kindness can do.”

Abeler’s seatmate on the Senate floor, Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, reposted the letter on Facebook and thanked Abeler, saying he’s the “only Republican who has spoken out for the Somali community.”

Abeler is friends with Fateh, and said he has “many, many Somali friends.”

“My opinion of the Somalis is based on knowing quite a number for many years — seeing their dedication to family and the community and their ethics," Abeler said.

The senator said he was raised to respect everybody, and he works with everybody in the Senate.

“The Lord tells us that we’re all the same,” he said. “My goal is to be somewhat of a peacemaker and to find some way to lead us into a better place.”

If Trump accepts his invitation, Abeler said, “We’ll have to get him some hot dish.”

Abeler’s Anoka district has trended Republican for several decades. While serving in the state House, he was something of a maverick. He was one of only a handful of Republicans who voted in 2008 to override a gas tax veto by then Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican. Abeler also became closely involved with funding decisions around health and public assistance programs, where he was known for a willingness to work across party lines.

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(Pat Condon of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.)

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