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By Daniel Orton and Dan Gooding
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration wanted to revoke the citizenship of any Somali Americans convicted of fraud amid a large-scale welfare scandal engulfing Minnesota.
"It's something the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of State is currently looking at right now," she said during an interview on Fox and Friends Wednesday morning. "It's something this administration has already done."
Why It Matters
Leavitt's comments signal a significant escalation in the federal government’s response to pandemic-era fraud. The move prompts concerns about due process, potential targeting of immigrant communities, and the precedent such denaturalization efforts may set for U.S. citizens nationwide. Tensions are rising both locally and nationally as leaders debate appropriate measures, legality, and the impact on one of America’s largest Somali diaspora communities.
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What To Know
Federal prosecutors have charged around 90 people in connection with state and federal program frauds, including nutrition, health care, and housing assistance schemes. There have been 57 guilty pleas and convictions in one program alone—the so-called Feeding our Future scheme, named after a Minnesota nonprofit which billed the government for hundreds of millions of meals during the pandemic that were never served. Estimates of the cost to taxpayers range from $250 million to $1 billion. Most of the defendants are of East African descent and believed to be part of Minnesota's Somali community, the largest in the U.S.
The Department of Justice began uncovering these fraud schemes in 2022. DHS reported that federal authorities have increased their presence in Minnesota, while the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has frozen all child care payments to the state until additional oversight is established.
Some Somali community leaders and immigrant advocates have accused the administration of using the situation to unfairly target and stigmatize an entire community rather than focus efforts strictly on individuals found guilty of criminal activity.
Denaturalization, the legal process to revoke U.S. citizenship, is rare. On average only 11 cases were pursued annually between 1990 and 2017, according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
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What People Are Saying
David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, told Newsweek: "The administration cannot unilaterally revoke anyone's citizenship. It can initiate proceedings to request that a court revoke citizenship if it can prove that the citizen committed fraud to obtain citizenship, including by lying about a serious criminal offense prior to naturalization. It is not easy, but it is possible."
Ricky Murray, a former USCIS official, told Newsweek: "It would be very hard to argue that focusing denaturalization efforts on a single nationality is legal. Once someone naturalizes they are a U.S. citizen and there are not classes or levels of U.S. citizenship. There is no distinction between those born U.S. citizens and those who have naturalized. Once you are a U.S. citizen the due process clause applies, which includes equal-protection principles. The justification for the government to ignore the protections of the fifth amendment of the constitution would have to be extremely high to allow the denaturalization efforts to be focused solely on Somalis."
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, voiced support for drastic measures earlier this week: "I have three words regarding Somalis who have committed fraud against American taxpayers: Send them home. If they’re here illegally, deport them immediately; if they’re naturalized citizens, revoke their citizenship and deport them quickly thereafter. If we need to change the law to do that, I will."
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News on Tuesday: "Under U.S. law, if an individual procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalization."
Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz said in response to the HHS funding cut: "We’ve spent years cracking down on fraudsters. It’s a serious issue—but this has been [Trump's] plan all along. He’s politicizing the issue to defund programs that help Minnesotans.
What Happens Next
Federal investigations may expand beyond Minnesota to other states if similar fraud patterns are detected.
Update, 12/31/2025, 10:36 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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