A smaller group of local advocates originally planned to attend a Deportation Defense Network of R.I. press conference outside of the courthouse, hoping to rally for virtual immigration court hearings.
I noticed that during the past week the mainstream media focus had changed from the multi-million dollar fraud in Minnesota to the protests in Minneapolis after Wednesday (1/7/2026) when Renee N. Macklin Good was killed during a confrontation with ICE agents.
So I Googled:
Are the ICE raid Protests a distraction from Somali Fraud in Minnesota?
And Google Artificial Intelligence (AI) responded:
The protests against recent large-scale U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota are directly linked to, not a distraction from, widely publicized allegations of Somali community fraud involving federal aid programs. The Trump administration explicitly cited the fraud cases as justification for the increased enforcement presence, a connection that has been a major source of political and social tension.
Connection Between the Events
- Federal Justification: U.S. Homeland Security officials and the President have repeatedly linked the recent surge in federal agents—dubbed "Operation Metro Surge" and described as the "largest immigration operation ever" in the state—to ongoing fraud investigations involving federal nutrition and pandemic aid programs.
- Political Motivations Alleged: State and city officials in Minnesota, including the Attorney General and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul, have filed a lawsuit to stop the ICE operations, arguing that the federal government is using the fraud scandal as a pretext to unconstitutionally target a Democratic-led state and its large Somali population for political reasons.
- Community Impact and Protests: The federal actions have caused widespread fear and disruption in the Twin Cities, leading to numerous protests, school lockdowns, and business closures. Protesters and local officials contend that the aggressive tactics and a fatal shooting by an ICE agent have created an environment of terror and that the broad enforcement is a form of "collective punishment" against the entire Somali community for the actions of a few individuals charged with crimes.
Details of the Somali Fraud in Minnesota
Federal prosecutors have charged nearly 100 individuals, most of whom are of Somali descent and U.S. citizens, in connection with several large-scale social service fraud schemes in Minnesota.
- Feeding Our Future: The largest case involved a non-profit, Feeding Our Future, which allegedly misappropriated over $250 million (the estimate has since grown) in federal funds intended for a child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Other Schemes: Other fraud cases, totaling potentially billions of dollars, involved other programs like housing assistance (Housing Stabilization Services) and autism therapy (EIDBI).
- Alleged Misuse of Funds: Stolen funds were reportedly used for luxury items such as cars, real estate, and international travel, with some claims from anonymous sources in the media suggesting money may have indirectly reached the terrorist group al-Shabaab in Somalia, though federal prosecutors have not confirmed a direct link to terrorist funding.
The narrative connecting the ICE actions and the fraud is complex, with federal officials framing the operations as necessary enforcement, while state leaders and community members view the surge as a disproportionate, politically motivated "federal invasion" that uses the fraud allegations to justify targeting an entire community.
Source: Google AI
Source: Google AI
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P. S.
The picture above is from the student newspaper of BROWN UNIVERSITY, where on December 13, 2025 a shooter killed two and injured several other people.
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