U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer is no longer representing Minnesota in Congress.

Yes, the 65-year-old Republican remains the elected member of the Sixth Congressional District. He’s also the Majority Whip, the No. 3 spot, in the U.S. House hierarchy.

He’s drawing a government check, and he’s got fabulous federal health insurance that likely covers the knee scooter he needs to get around the Capitol.

But Emmer’s no longer bothering to consider a portion of his district that includes up to 15% of the state’s Somali population, all but a tiny percentage of whom are here legally.

Emmer’s been in Congress since 2015 and he’s never flown higher than right now, thanks to his allegiance to every execrable utterance from President Donald Trump.

I’m obligated to remind you that Emmer has signed on with Trump after the president, with a single post on social media in 2023, spiked Emmer’s aspirations to ascend to the speakership of the U.S. House. At the time, Trump crowed, “He’s done. It’s over. I killed him.”

In response, Emmer transmogrified into the president’s permanent lapdog lest he be left off the list of bootlickers welcome at Mar-a-Lago on any given weekend.

Earlier this year when Trump’s militia trampled Minnesotans’ constitutional rights, Emmer nodded in agreement with Trump as two Minneapolis residents were shot dead on the street by federal agents.

Emmer’s social media posts are one of the few avenues to hear from him, as he doesn’t subject himself to rigorous interviews with mainstream journalists.

Online, he cheers on Trump and slobbers out a string of puerile invective against DFL Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.

Time was when Minnesotans could rely on bipartisan cooperation from their elected leaders. But not with Emmer, whose allegiance is to the White House.

He knows he can kowtow to Trump like a sniveling stray because he’s in a seat that is safely GOP by some 20 percentage points. And yet his recent comments about Somali immigrants sank to a new subterranean low.

Speaking at a “conservative town hall” sponsored by the nonprofit Faith & Freedom Coalition in D.C. last Thursday, Emmer punched down hard.

“Minnesotans are so afraid that you’re gonna call us ‘a racist,’ you’re gonna call us ‘an Islamophobe,’ you’re going to call us some name, that we just don’t want to get into that fight,” Emmer said.

“You know what? I would argue that I never did care, but I’m done being careful, even the least bit careful.”

“They don’t assimilate,” he continued. “And if they don’t assimilate, then they should go the hell back to where they came from.”

I asked to interview Emmer on the topic. In response, his spokeswoman Sally Fox said, “That would be a total waste of his time.

There’s nothing to add, and while it may come as a complete shock to the Star Tribune, most Minnesotans agree with Congressman Emmer.”

Now I know that isn’t true because Emmer’s words were an unwelcome echo of 1998 when then-KQRS Radio morning show host Tom Barnard declared that Hmong immigrants should “either assimilate or hit the road.”

Public outcry ensued and a KQRS executive apologized on the air.

It’s almost a rite of passage, the same garbage spewed about every new immigrant and refugee group from the Scandinavians to the Croatians, Irish, Italians, Poles, Jews and Hmong.

And here we are again, but don’t expect Emmer to apologize for this xenophobic outburst that trends with the white Christian nationalism coming from Trump.

So allow me to apologize for a political ogre masquerading as a public leader. I can’t imagine the mortal fear that drives a family to flee their homeland.

Somalis, like every other immigrant group before them, benefit our state. Yes, there are some bad actors, but the overwhelming majority work hard. They keep Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport humming around the clock in all sorts of service jobs. They are personal care attendants, tending to us when we are ill.

They drive Lyfts and Ubers, getting us where we need to go. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers and elected officials.

History shows that assimilation takes time, at least a generation, and who does Emmer think he is to tell immigrants to give up their heritage? Emmer’s led a good life.

He grew up playing hockey in Edina and caddied at Interlachen Country Club. He’s married with children and grandchildren. He has a son with a high-profile job in Congress and a daughter who’s a broadcaster for the Minnesota Twins and the Wild.

At the peak of his professional life, with access to the nation’s highest office, Emmer’s focused on demeaning those with less rather then giving them a hand up.

Is this all just cynical performance politics to maintain his proximity to power? Or does Emmer believe he’s standing up for something righteous and noble? Emmer himself once believed in sharing good fortune.

In 2015, he and then- Democratic U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison created the Somalia Caucus, which sought to push for peace and defeat al- Shabab in that East African nation.

He famously pushed back against St. Cloud constituents who questioned the influx of Somali immigrants, saying that as long as they immigrate legally, “you don’t get to slam the gate behind you and tell nobody else that they’re welcome.”

Emmer owes us all an explanation for the devolution of his views on immigration, but he especially owes it to the Somalis in his district.

I’d urge that he hold an opento-all, in-person town hall session in Stearns County to put his ideas to the test.

Why not? Surely, the congressman’s not afraid to look into the eyes of his constituents and expound on his newfound ideas about immigrants. rochelle.olson@startribune.com