The US government is “looking at” the possibility of revoking the citizenship of Somalis convicted of fraud, the White House said.
“It’s something the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are currently looking at right now,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Wednesday when asked whether President Donald Trump supports stripping citizenship from Somalis found guilty of fraud in the US state of Minnesota.
Leavitt said the administration is prepared to pursue denaturalisation, describing it as “a tool at the president’s and the secretary of state’s disposal.”
She characterised the initiative as a “whole-of-government” effort and a “top priority for the administration,” adding that the Justice Department is executing search warrants and subpoenas.
“People will be in handcuffs as a result of the fraud that Governor Walz has allowed to occur for many, many years,” she said, referring to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security is conducting door-to-door investigations at potential fraud sites while continuing deportations of undocumented immigrants in Minnesota communities.
In a separate social media post, President Donald Trump also commented on the matter, claiming that the alleged cases of fraud were directly linked to immigrants from Somalia.
Trump called for the deportation of people who entered the US illegally from Somalia, accusing them of committing "up to 90 percent" of the fraud committed in the state.
Minnesota fraud
Separately, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer announced a hearing next month examining alleged fraud and misuse of federal funds in Minnesota’s social services programmes.
Comer invited Governor Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to testify before the committee on February 10, 2026.
"American taxpayers demand and deserve accountability for the theft of their hard-earned money," Comer said in a statement.
The Justice Department said Monday it charged 98 individuals in a wide-ranging fraud investigation in Minnesota, with Attorney General Pam Bondi stating 85 are of Somali descent.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday that significant progress has been made investigating a "large-scale" fraud operation in Minnesota that administration officials claim exploited federal food aid programmes for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Health and Human Services Department stopped all federal childcare funding to Minnesota on Tuesday following the allegations.
Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill and Assistant Secretary Alex Adams said on X that they were also establishing new nationwide requirements for childcare payments.
The department said payments managed by the Administration for Children and Families would require documentation and photographic proof or receipts before funds would be distributed to states.
