❓WHAT HAPPENED: Federal agents have arrested 500 illegal immigrants and investigated 1,000 immigration-fraud cases in Minnesota over the past two months, according to Homeland Security.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Homeland Security, ICE, Somali nationals, and Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Investigations have escalated in Minnesota over the past two months, with updates provided on December 30, 2025.

💬KEY QUOTE: “These suspected perpetrators are really trying to cover their tracks,” said Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary.

🎯IMPACT: Federal funding to Minnesota’s childcare program has been cut off, and stricter documentation is now required for daycare providers nationwide.

Federal immigration enforcement agents have already arrested an estimated 500 illegal immigrants and investigated over 1,000 cases of immigration fraud in Minnesota over the past two months, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. According to DHS, nearly 100 individuals were also arrested and federally charged over defrauding the government, with most of them being Somali nationals.

McLaughlin revealed that “hundreds” of federal investigators were on the ground in Minnesota over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, investigating a number of daycare centers, assisted living facilities, and “other organizations that take taxpayer dollars.” She continued, “These suspected perpetrators are really trying to cover their tracks.” The fraudulent businesses, McLaughlin notes, have taken steps to disguise their criminal operations as legitimate enterprises.

The federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota predates the viral video posted by YouTuber Nick Shirley on December 26, claiming to have found over $110 million in alleged childcare fraud. Federal prosecutors earlier in December estimated the total cost of fraud in the state could easily top $9 billion. “The fraud is not small. It isn’t isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated. What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering industrial-scale fraud. It’s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said at the time.

Despite federal efforts, however, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have faced resistance from Minnesota state officials, including Governor Tim Walz (D-MN). The state’s sanctuary laws place limitations on cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and Minneapolis recently enacted provisions barring city employees from working with ICE officers. Late last month, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons slammed the Democrat-enacted sanctuary policies, stating: “If sanctuary cities would change their policies, and turn these violent criminal aliens over to us … instead of releasing them into the public, we would not have to go out to the communities and do this.”

The National Pulse previously reported that state government whistleblowers accuse Gov. Walz of having uncovered evidence of the Somali immigrant community-connected fraud involving the Feeding Our Future nonprofit in 2019. However, they contend the Walz administration backed down from investigating the group after intense pushback from Feeding Our Future’s leaders, who accused state officials of discrimination against Minnesota’s Somali immigrant community.

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