Rep. Ilhan Omar says federal probe into Minnesota’s welfare fraud is “creating confusion and chaos”

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar denounced a surge of federal agents to Minneapolis targeting Somalis and other immigrants after a fraud scheme in the state, saying the Trump administration has sown “confusion and chaos.”

“It’s not necessary in a moment when we are trying to deal with a serious problem that needs serious people to be able to address it,” Omar said Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”

The Minneapolis area now has one of the largest concentrations of Department of Homeland Security agents in any American city in recent years. There are more than 2,400 federal agents, more than double the number of local police officers, and the federal government intends to send hundreds more.

The administration says the surge has been necessary to conduct both immigration enforcement and to investigate a growing fraud scandal in the state, the cost of which federal prosecutors estimate could top $9 billion. The scandal dates back to 2021, when Biden administration Justice Department investigators first honed in on an at least $250 million COVID-era scam revolving around the Feeding Our Future program, a case that now includes more than 75 defendants. 

Most of the defendants are of Somali descent, leading President Trump and other Republican lawmakers to focus attention on the state’s large Somali community, while threatening to suspend federal funding to the state across a broad array of programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and child care funding.

These actions have drawn stiff criticism from local officials, including Omar.

“There is no reason for them to use this level of rhetoric. There is no reason for them to fully stop these programs, funding these programs,” Omar said. “The only reason they are doing that is for PR purposes. And it is harming our state. It is harming my constituents.”

In response to Omar’s comments, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Sunday that it was “not surprising” that the congresswoman is “more concerned about Somali fraudsters being held accountable for their crimes than she is about the fraud taking place.”

With Minnesota in the eye of a federal storm, Gov. Tim Walz announced on Jan. 5 that he won’t seek reelection. Walz, who was former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate during the 2024 presidential election, had become a focus of Republican criticism amid the scandal. 

He said last week that he was ending his gubernatorial reelection bid because of the fraud probe, implying that the focus on Minnesota was a political vendetta targeting him, and pleading for the White House to withdraw federal agents.

“If it’s me, you’re already getting what you want, but leave my people alone,” Walz said.

Omar praised Walz’s decision as selfless.

“He wants to focus on defending our state and not defending a seat,” Omar said.