By Nimo Adam, Student in the M.P.S. in Insurance Management Program, School of Professional Studies
A friend recently shared an excerpt from Andrew Ross Sorkin’s NYT DealBook piece “Business Leaders Face a Test in Minneapolis,” in reference to the unrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As I am a Somali American, the events impacting the Somali diaspora and the broader Minneapolis community prompted me to reflect on that article through both a personal and risk-management lens.
Reports show that the Somali community in Minnesota is both large and deeply rooted. Estimates place roughly 80,000–84,000 residents of Somali ancestry in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area, and among the foreign-born, around 87% are naturalized U.S. citizens. The vast majority of Somali Minnesotans are said to be lawful residents or citizens contributing meaningfully to the local workforce and civic life.
The heightened immigration enforcement and rhetoric have created fear in this community. This is not a distant or abstract issue for me. In conversations with family in Minneapolis, I hear how that fear shows up in everyday decisions. A relative who is a city bus driver worries less about the usual demands of the job and more about how routine interactions might be misinterpreted or escalated. Another relative, a public health nurse, shares her frustration and guilt about postponing scheduled in-person patient assessments, not from lack of commitment, but out of concerns about negative or unwanted encounters while simply heading to work or doing her job.
From an insurance and risk perspective, this matters. When individuals become afraid to show up to their public-facing roles or essential in-person services, that fear becomes an operational and human-capital risk. At that point, the issue transcends politics and becomes a direct organizational risk. These are early indicators of systemic stress that insurers are trained to recognize well before they appear as measurable losses. At the same time, it’s important to acknowledge the solidarity shown by neighbors and the broader Minneapolis community, who are checking in, offering help, and showing support, even when doing so, exposes them to personal and social risk. The fear is real, but so is the resilience.
Allegations of “widespread fraud” are also concerning. In insurance, we recognize that a portion of claims reported may involve fraud, yet that reality does not lead us to treat every policyholder or claimant as a fraudster. Instead, we design controls, investigate claims, apply guardrails, and work with law enforcement to address fraudulent activity without undermining trust in the system as a whole. When that discipline erodes, volatility increases rather than risk being reduced.
It is worth noting that these attacks on the Somali community are also unfolding against a complex global backdrop. Somalia, the country from which many American Somalis originate, sits at a strategic crossroads in the Horn of Africa. Its location makes it a focal point for economic, security, and political interests, which is drawing increasing attention from regional and global powers. The negative portrayal of the Somali diaspora in the U.S. is not isolated from these global dynamics. From a risk perspective, domestic politics and geopolitics are often discussed independently, yet the targeting of this diaspora community is closely linked to broader geopolitical developments which is generating far-reaching consequences impacting social cohesion, workforce stability, and broader systemic resilience. I share this to contribute thoughtfully and hopefully encourage dialogue on how leaders might approach moments like this in ways that ease fear among impacted employees while minimizing business disruptions.
Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Columbia University School of Professional Studies or Columbia University.
About the Program
The Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Management is for career professionals who want to accelerate their advancement to leadership positions or broaden their expertise in the industry. It accommodates both professionals already working in insurance and those looking to make a career change. The program is part-time, online, and instruction is asynchronous to accommodate working professionals.
Applications are reviewed and candidates are accepted on a rolling basis for the M.P.S. in Insurance Management program. Learn more about the program here.
