Thursday January 1, 2026
Demonstrators rally in protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), amid a reported federal immigration operation targeting the Somali community, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 8, 2025 [Tim Evans/Reuters]
Minnesota (HOL) - The administration of United States President Donald Trump has suspended federal childcare funding to Minnesota and ordered audits of immigration cases involving Somali Americans, moves that critics say expand the use of fraud investigations to disproportionately target immigrant communities.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the funding freeze on Tuesday, citing allegations made by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley, who claimed that Somali American–run daycare centres in Minneapolis were responsible for as much as $100 million in fraud. Shirley’s video amassed 127 million views on X and received widespread coverage on Fox News.
“We have turned off the money spigot and we are finding the fraud,” O’Neill said.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States. The frozen $185 million in federal funds supports childcare services for low-income families statewide.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the move, calling it politically driven.
“This is Trump’s long game. We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue – but this has been his plan all along,” Walz wrote on X.
“He’s politicising the issue to defund programmes that help Minnesotans.”
At the same time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced audits of immigration cases involving Somali Americans to identify potential fraud, a process that could result in denaturalisation or the revocation of citizenship.
“Under US law, if an individual procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalization,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement first reported by Fox News and later shared by the White House.
In a separate interview with Fox News, McLaughlin said hundreds of investigators were also examining businesses in Minneapolis. “We believe that there is rampant fraud, whether it be daycare centres, healthcare centres, or other organisations,” she said.
Federal prosecutors allege that as much as $9 billion in Minnesota social assistance funding has been stolen since 2018. This includes $300 million allegedly misappropriated from a state children’s nutrition programme during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Trump administration, federal charges have been filed against 98 individuals, 85 of whom are described as being “of Somali descent”. Although the case became public in 2022, conservative politicians and activists have increasingly highlighted it this year.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on Tuesday that the agency was also investigating fraud allegations in Minnesota. Writing on X, Patel said the FBI was “aware of recent social media reports” and had “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programmes”.
However, some US media outlets have questioned the credibility of Shirley’s claims.
