President Donald Trump has recently focused his immigration crackdown on Minnesota’s substantial Somali community, linking ongoing, massive fraud cases in the state to immigrants from the East African nation. Last week, Trump made headlines by calling Minnesota Somalis “garbage” and stating plainly that he does not want them in the United States.
This renewed political focus has intensified criticism against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who is currently the Democratic vice presidential candidate for 2024. Republicans argue that Walz failed to stop the widespread fraud, turning the issue into a major talking point ahead of the state’s 2026 gubernatorial election, where Walz plans to seek a third term.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the U.S., with roughly 84,000 of the nation’s 260,000 Somalis living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The vast majority of this population are U.S. citizens: almost 58% were born here, and 87% of the foreign-born individuals have become naturalized citizens.
The core issue involves a series of serious, federally prosecuted fraud cases in Minnesota, the total losses of which are still being calculated. Prosecutors estimate that the total money stolen across all related schemes could exceed $1 billion, a figure that Governor Walz recently acknowledged might be accurate pending a state audit in January. Walz maintains that his administration is now taking strong steps to stop any future fraud and defends his government’s initial response.
The most prominent case, named after the non-profit “Feeding Our Future,” involved a federal program meant to feed children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors say this was the largest pandemic-related fraud in the country, with defendants accused of falsely claiming to serve millions of meals and stealing approximately $300 million instead. This case first broke in 2022 and has since expanded from 47 to 78 defendants. So far, 57 people have been convicted through guilty pleas or trials, with 13 awaiting trial.
Beyond the food program, federal authorities have also filed charges in two other major schemes: one involving fraud against federally funded health care benefits for the Minnesota Housing Stability Services Program, and another targeting an autism program. A prosecutor, Joe Thompson, commented on the staggering scope, saying, “What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes, draining resources meant for those in need. It feels never ending.”
The ethnicity of the defendants has been central to the political debate. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota, more than 90% of the people charged in these three cases—86 individuals total—are of Somali descent. In the Feeding Our Future case, 72 of the 78 defendants are Somali, although the person accused of leading the entire organization was a white American woman.
Democratic U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, a prominent Somali American, strongly defended her community during a recent interview on CBS News. She argued that it is unfair to blame the entire community for the actions of a few and pointed out that most Somalis in Minnesota are angry about the fraud because, as taxpayers, they are also harmed by the stolen funds. Omar accused President Donald Trump of having “an unhealthy obsession” with her and the community, warning that such hateful language could prompt dangerous actions from his followers.
The political attacks intensified after a conservative news outlet suggested that taxpayer money from the defrauded programs had been funneled to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida militant group in Somalia. However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted on “Face The Nation” that investigators have not yet found any proof of terrorism links. Significantly, prosecutors, who have a history of aggressively pursuing terrorism charges in the community, have not charged any of the fraud defendants with providing material support to terrorist organizations. Omar expressed confidence that if such a link existed, charges would have already been filed, but stressed that her community fully supports the prosecution of anyone sending U.S. funds to aid terrorism.
