White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the Trump administration is reviewing whether to revoke U.S. citizenship from individuals of Somali descent who were convicted of fraud as part of the sprawling Minnesota social services scandal, signaling a tougher approach to accountability in cases involving abuse of taxpayer-funded programs.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, Leavitt said the administration is closely examining cases tied to the sweeping federal investigation, with the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department both involved in the review process. According to Leavitt, officials are “looking at” denaturalization for individuals who obtained U.S. citizenship fraudulently and were later convicted in the Minnesota probe.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin reinforced that position in a statement to The Hill, saying that U.S. law is clear on the issue. If someone procures citizenship through fraud, McLaughlin said, that alone can be grounds for denaturalization.
More than 240,000 people of Somali descent were living in the United States as of 2024, including over 100,000 in Minnesota, according to data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Minnesota has been at the center of the fraud investigation, which has drawn national attention in recent weeks.
The Department of Justice has charged 98 individuals in the wide-ranging fraud probe dating back to 2022. Of those charged, 85 are of Somali descent. The convicted ringleader of the Feeding Our Future scheme, however, is Aimee Bock, who is white, underscoring that the alleged fraud involved multiple actors.
The issue has ignited sharp political debate. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., called Tuesday for the deportation of all Somalis linked to fraud in the state. While the scandal has been simmering for years, it exploded into the national spotlight this week as Trump administration officials criticized Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s handling of the matter.
Fueling the attention was a viral video by independent journalist Nick Shirley, whose reporting on alleged Somali-linked daycare and social services fraud racked up hundreds of millions of views online and drew praise from Trump administration officials. The video helped push the Minnesota case into the center of the national conversation.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly highlighted the fraud scandal while discussing Minnesota, often tying it to broader concerns about immigration and government oversight. Last month, Trump ended temporary legal protections for Somali residents in Minnesota, citing the fraud controversy.
Earlier this month, Trump said Somali migrants were “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.” During a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting, he also referred to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as “garbage.” Omar, a U.S. citizen who fled Somalia during the country’s civil war more than two decades ago, responded on X that Trump’s “obsession with me is creepy.”
In a Truth Social post Wednesday morning, Trump again tied the fraud issue to immigration, claiming that “much of the Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused by people that came into our Country, illegally, from Somalia.” He added that those involved were a liability to the country and called for them to be sent back.
The administration’s focus on Minnesota comes as Trump continues pushing a broader immigration crackdown, including tighter restrictions and increased deportations. Recently, the administration began reexamining green cards connected to 19 countries, including Somalia, following the shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members outside a metro station near the White House.
The alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is an Afghan national who entered the U.S. in September 2021 through a program for individuals who assisted American forces during the war in Afghanistan. While unrelated to the Minnesota fraud case, the incident has intensified scrutiny of immigration vetting and enforcement.
Leavitt’s comments make clear that the administration sees denaturalization as a legal tool on the table when citizenship was obtained through fraud, especially in cases involving large-scale abuse of public funds.
[READ MORE: Trump Administration Halts Federal Childcare Funding to Minnesota Over Fraud Probe]
