Wed Dec 31 08:30:00 UTC 2025: ## Federal Government Freezes Minnesota Childcare Funds, Launches Immigration Audits Targeting Somali Americans
Washington D.C. – The Trump administration has frozen $185 million in federal childcare funding to the state of Minnesota and initiated audits of immigration cases involving Somali Americans, citing allegations of widespread fraud within daycare centers run by members of the community.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the funding freeze on Tuesday, stating it was responding to claims made by conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley, who alleged that Somali American-operated daycare centers in Minneapolis had defrauded the state of up to $100 million. Shirley’s video gained significant traction online and on Fox News.
“We have turned off the money spigot and we are finding the fraud,” said Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary of HHS. He accused Minnesota of funneling “millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycare centers.”
Simultaneously, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced audits of immigration cases involving Somali Americans, potentially leading to denaturalization or revocation of citizenship if fraud is detected. “Under US law, if an individual procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalization,” stated DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. She also revealed that hundreds of investigators are targeting businesses in Minneapolis for suspected fraud.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz condemned the move as politically motivated, accusing the Trump administration of politicizing the issue to defund programs that benefit Minnesotans. “This is Trump’s long game. We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters… he’s politicising the issue to defund programmes that help Minnesotans,” Walz wrote on X.
The actions follow a larger case involving alleged theft of $9 billion in Minnesota social assistance programs since 2018, including $300 million misappropriated from a state children’s nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal charges have been filed against 98 people, 85 of whom are said to be “of Somali descent.”
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that the agency is also investigating fraud allegations in Minnesota, stating they have “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programmes.”
However, some media outlets have questioned the validity of the initial allegations. A CBS News investigation found that most of the daycare centers featured in Shirley’s video have active licenses and had been visited by state regulators within the last six months. While the centers had safety and cleanliness violations, “there was no recorded evidence of fraud.”
The allegations are already impacting Somali communities in other states. Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown warned against harassment and accusations of fraud targeting home-based daycare providers, stating such behavior is unsafe and potentially dangerous.
Minnesota has the largest Somali population in the US, and the frozen federal funds subsidize childcare for low-income families across the state.
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