Trump Admin Audits Somali Americans for Alleged Fraud

Is Minnesota's daycare fraud crackdown justified prosecution or discriminatory targeting of Somali communities?
Trump Admin Audits Somali Americans for Alleged Fraud
Above: Karoline Leavitt in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Dec. 1, 2025. Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Spin

Anti-Trump narrative

Federal investigations into Minnesota daycare fraud targeting Somali-run centers lack substantiation and weaponize unverified social media claims to justify discriminatory enforcement. Regulators conducted unannounced visits to all locations featured in viral videos and found no evidence of fraud. This crackdown exploits past fraud cases to justify targeting an entire community where 87% of foreign-born residents are naturalized citizens.

Pro-Trump narrative

Minnesota harbors the single greatest welfare fraud operation in American history, with Somali networks systematically looting taxpayer dollars through fake daycare and social service schemes. Federal prosecutors estimate hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen across multiple programs, with most defendants being Somali Americans. Complete transparency and continued prosecutions will expose the shocking scale of this theft.

Metaculus Prediction




© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.20.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.20.1