The Trump administration was exploring the denaturalisation of Somali-Americans in Minnesota who engaged in fraud, a move that would seek to strip US citizenship from those who illegally obtained tax dollars intended for social services.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt discussed the potential action in a December 31 appearance on Fox News, one day after the US Department of Health and Human Services froze childcare payments to Minnesota following what the agency said was fraud at daycares in the state.”We’re also not afraid to use denaturalization,” Leavitt said. “That’s a tool at the president and the secretary of state’s disposal, and it’s one this administration has previously used before.” “Absolutely,” Leavitt said when asked whether Trump wanted Somali-Americans’ citizenship revoked if they were convicted of fraud. “It’s something the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State is currently looking at right now.”Federal prosecutors charged 86 individuals with felonies for exploiting federal tax dollars intended to help hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic for personal gain. More than 60 pleaded guilty or were convicted so far. The case was originally brought by the Biden administration, US Today reported.Of the 86 people charged in a sprawling $250 million case involving Minnesota-administered programmes, 78 were identified as Somali-Americans. Minnesota was home to about 80,000 Somali immigrants, the largest of any state. Most were naturalised citizens, foreign-born individuals who went through a legal process to gain their citizenship.Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in a December 30 appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast, said DHS investigators were currently going “door to door” to suspected fraud sites in Minnesota “to make sure we follow the money here and we bring arrests, prosecutions and ultimately removals.”The White House also seized on a recent viral video from conservative influencer Nick Shirley that claimed abandoned daycare centres were receiving millions in state taxpayer dollars. FBI Director Kash Patel on Dec. 28 said his agency had “surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.”Stripping citizenship from naturalised US citizens was rare and had a high bar. Federal courts, not the administration, made the final decisions. Denaturalisation could be pursued through either civil proceedings or a criminal conviction.During President Donald Trump’s first term in office, the Justice Department filed 168 denaturalisation cases in federal court, while the Biden administration filed 64 such cases, a database created by Irina Mantra, a Hofstra University law professor, found. An average of 11 denaturalisation cases per year were filed between 1990 and 2007.The general grounds for denaturalisation involved the “illegal procurement of naturalization” or the “concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation,” according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, a federal agency. In addition, the federal govt could cite an individual’s current or past affiliation with a totalitarian political party or terrorist organisation.Demonstrators rallied in protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), amid a reported federal immigration operation targeting the Somali community, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, December 8, 2025.Trump called Somali immigrants in Minnesota “garbage,” igniting pushback from immigrant rights advocates who argued the White House’s focus on the Minnesota fraud case was an excuse to target the immigrant population. Trump and Republicans blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, for allowing the fraud to unfold.Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, a close ally of Trump, called for the denaturalisation of Somali-Americans convicted of fraud in a Dec. 30 post on Facebook.“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,” Emmer said. Go to Source
