MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump has linked his administration’s immigration crackdown on Minnesota’s large Somali community to a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which many defendants have roots in the East African country.
Trump last week labeled Somalis in Minnesota “garbage” and said he didn’t want them in the US
The president’s push comes as Republicans have stepped up their criticism of Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic 2024 vice presidential nominee, over his alleged failures to prevent fraud. It’s already a major issue in the 2026 gubernatorial race as Walz seeks a third term.
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the U.S. About 84,000 of the 260,000 Somalis in the U.S. live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The overwhelming majority are US citizens. Nearly 58% are US-born and 87% of the foreign-born are naturalized citizens.
Here’s a look at the fraud cases and some of the political impacts.
losses
The extent of losses from a series of major fraud cases being prosecuted by federal authorities in Minnesota is uncertain. Prosecutors estimated the losses from one case known as Feeding Our Future alone at $300 million.
In news interviews and press releases over the summer, U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson estimated that the total from all the cases could top $1 billion. Republicans took advantage of this number.
Walz said last week that an audit due by the end of January should provide a better picture, but allowed that the $1 billion figure could be accurate. He said his administration is taking aggressive steps to prevent further fraud. He has long defended how his administration responded.
Feeding our future
The Feeding Our Future case was named after the nonprofit that prosecutors say was at the center of the nation’s largest COVID-19 scam. It involved a state-run but federally funded program designed to feed children during the pandemic. Collectively, the defendants were accused of claiming to feed millions of meals to children but stealing the money.
The case broke in 2022, during the administration of President Joe Biden, when 47 people were indicted. The number of defendants rose to 78 during the ongoing investigation.
So far, 57 people have been convicted, either because they pleaded guilty or lost at trial. Thirteen are awaiting trial. Two people were acquitted, although one of them was convicted in a juror bribery case. Five are fugitives and one is dead.
Other cases of fraud
Eight others were indicted in September for their alleged roles in a scheme to defraud federally funded health care benefits from the Minnesota Housing Stability Services Program. Two have already pleaded guilty. Prosecutors said it was just the first wave of charges.
“What we’re seeing is schemes piled on top of schemes, consuming resources meant for those in need. It just doesn’t seem to end.” Thompson said then. “I have spent my career as a fraud prosecutor, and the depth of fraud in Minnesota takes my breath away.”
A week later, prosecutors charged a woman in an autism fraud scheme and indicated more would follow. She was charged earlier in the Feeding Our Future case.
“Each case we bring exposes another component of this network,” Thompson said in another statement.
Most of the defendants are of Somali origin
More than 90 percent of the people charged in those three cases are of Somali origin for a total of 86, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota.
This includes 72 of the 78 defendants in Feeding Our Future, although the alleged ringleader was a white American woman. Six of the eight defendants in the housing case are Somali, as is the only defendant charged in both the autism and food fraud cases.
Minnesota’s most prominent Somali-American, Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, said Sunday on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” that it’s unfair to blame the entire community for the actions of a relatively small number. She said most are upset about the fraud.
“This also impacts Somalis because we are also taxpayers in Minnesota,” Omar said. “Also, we could have benefited from the program and the money that was stolen.”
Omar accused Trump of an “unhealthy obsession” with the community and with her personally.
“I think it’s also very important for us to remember that this kind of hateful rhetoric and this level of dehumanization can lead to dangerous actions by people who listen to the president,” she said.
Allegations of terrorism remain unfounded
Trump launched his crackdown after the conservative news outlet City Journal alleged that taxpayer dollars from the fraudulent programs went to the militant group al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate.
But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted on “Face The Nation” that investigators have found no evidence so far that the proceeds of the fraud fuel terrorism.
Prosecutors have not charged any defendants in the fraud cases with providing material support to foreign terrorist organizations. Instead, prosecutors have long been aggressive in bringing terrorism charges against members of the community who allegedly tried to join or provide material support to al-Shabab or the Islamic State group.
“That’s why it’s an investigation. We started it last week. We’ll see where it goes,” Bessent said.
Omar countered that she was confident any connections would have already led to charges.
“But if that is the case, if there is US dollar money being sent to aid terrorism in Somalia, we want to know and we want these people prosecuted and we want to make sure that this never happens again,” Omar said.