Minnesota has been in the news a lot lately, but for all the wrong reasons: federal prosecutors revealed that hundreds of millions of dollars were ripped off in large-scale fraud efforts, many of which were directed by members of the Somali community in the state.
Gov. Tim Walz has been widely ripped for allowing this all to go down on his watch. President Trump, meanwhile, vowed at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting that consequences were coming, and on Wednesday, they came as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents reportedly descended on Minneapolis to find and remove illegal aliens.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that an operation has started in the Twin Cities as of this writing, but several outlets are reporting that it's underway:
The Trump administration has opened a new front in its immigration crackdown, targeting illegal Somali immigrants in Minneapolis with a push of more than 100 ICE agents.
Immigration agents are targeting as many as 500 Somalis in the country illegally in the city, which is home to the US’ largest population from the war-torn East African nation, estimated at over 80,000, according to several reports.
The operation follows the stunning revelation that scammers in the Somali migrant community have engaged in massive fraud — costing Minnesota taxpayers some $1 billion — which happened right under the nose of Gov. Tim Walz, according to the state’s Department of Human Services.
🚨 GREAT NEWS: Federal agents are FINALLY arresting and deporting Somalis
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 3, 2025
It's about time!
They must all go back! 🔥pic.twitter.com/r2IuSVbFCL
READ MORE: Things Are Really Heating Up for Tim Walz As New Investigations Over Fraud Scandal Drop
Watch: Tim Walz's Response When Questioned About MN Fraud Scandal Explains Exactly Why He Lost
Trump unloaded Tuesday on those who steal from our country, saying he doesn’t want them here:
"Okay, okay! I won't get political at dinner..."
— Michael Knowles (@michaeljknowles) December 3, 2025
me after one sip of beer:pic.twitter.com/6BsKG7hOvs
The Department of Homeland Security said that they do not single out specific ethnicities, and that ICE operations were simultaneously occurring in New Orleans, which does not have a large concentration of people from the impoverished East African country. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Wednesday:
“Every day, ICE enforces the laws of the nation across the country. What makes someone a target of ICE is not their race or ethnicity, but the fact that they are in the country illegally. We do not discuss future or potential operations,” said in a statement Wednesday as the operation reportedly got underway.
Geaux Home. https://t.co/1Oz3nBLvjw
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 3, 2025
Border Czar Tom Homan told Fox News Tuesday evening that the operations were coming:
“We’ve done operations in Twin Cities, but you know what? The uncoverings of criminal activity … just elevated their priority status,” Homan said in an interview on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle.”
“I can tell you the focus is there. It’s coming,” he added. “I can’t tell you how many people are on the ground now, how many people are going to be on the ground — I will leave that to the secretary of Homeland Security — but the focus is on those Twin Cities more because of the criminal activity that’s been uncovered by DOJ and DHS.”
RedState will bring you updates to this story as they become available.
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