The Trump administration is exploring a move that will undoubtedly send the left into full meltdown mode. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the White House is weighing whether to revoke U.S. citizenship from Somali immigrants who defrauded government welfare programs.
Appearing on Fox & Friends on Wednesday, Leavitt said the Departments of Homeland Security and State are “looking at” denaturalization for Somali immigrants tied to the fraud operations in Minnesota.
She made clear the administration expects resistance to the effort, but Trump isn’t backing down.
“We know that there are liberal activist judges across the country who will try to block and tackle this administration from pursuing justice at every turn,” Leavitt said. “But that’s not going to stop the President and his entire cabinet by acting on behalf of law-abiding, tax-paying citizens in the state of Minnesota and in states across the country who have been ripped off by people who abused our immigration system, came to our country, do not love our country or respect our values, and now have been ripping off and stealing money from law-abiding Americans.”
Leavitt described the fraudsters as people who “came to our country, do not love our country or respect our values, and now have been ripping off and stealing money from law-abiding Americans.” She added, “This administration is not going to tolerate it. Again, this is a whole-of-government effort. We’ve surged resources.”
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Leavitt noted that DOJ has “already charged and prosecuted nearly 100 people” in connection with the case. Some of the buildings and sites flagged in investigative video footage by independent journalist Nick Shirley are currently under federal scrutiny, including the Midway Building. That location alone produced 13 defendants charged earlier in 2025 under Attorney General leadership and Trump’s direction.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the Trump administration will seek to denaturalize Somali immigrants who became citizens if they were involved in the schemes to defraud government welfare programs.
“This administration is not going to tolerate it.”
The… pic.twitter.com/0jGaldOqfa
— Jeff Charles, Asker of Questions🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) December 31, 2025
How the Trump administration will pull this off remains to be seen. Current federal law doesn’t allow the government to strip citizenship solely because of crimes committed after naturalization. Denaturalization can only happen if a federal court finds that someone lied on their citizenship application, concealed critical information, or was never eligible for citizenship in the first place. The White House plans to audit immigration and naturalization files for Somali immigrants suspected of involvement in the welfare fraud schemes to determine whether any obtained citizenship through misrepresentation.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Hill that “under U.S. law, if an individual procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalization.”
As of 2024, more than 240,000 people of Somali descent lived in the United States, more than 100,000 in Minnesota alone, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Somalis in Minnesota have been central to the welfare fraud probe. Of the 98 people charged by the DOJ in the sweeping investigation, 85 are of Somali descent. The convicted ringleader of the “Feeding Our Future” fraud scheme, Aimee Bock, is white, showing that the case involves co-conspirators of multiple backgrounds, even though the majority of those charged are Somali.
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