By Priscilla Alvarez, Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — The Trump administration is deploying around 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis as part of an immigration crackdown on the heels of a welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota, according to two law enforcement officials.
Senior Trump officials have fixated on Minnesota and its Somali community after accusations of alleged fraud by members of the community. Last month, President Donald Trump called the community “garbage” and sent federal immigration authorities to the state.
The latest mobilization marks an escalation in the immigration enforcement push. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as well as US Border Patrol agents are deploying to Minnesota. US Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino, whose controversial tactics have come under increased scrutiny in multiple cities, is also expected to deploy to Minneapolis.
In response to questions about the deployment, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CNN, “While for the safety of our officers we do not get into law enforcement footprint, DHS has surged law enforcement and has already made more than 1,000 arrests of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and gang members.”
Federal agents have already been on the ground and the escalated presence in the city is already underway as authorities ramp up the administration’s crackdown.
Deployment follows fraud scandal
The deployment comes in the wake of a fraud scandal that has seen federal child care funding to Minnesota frozen and Gov. Tim Walz drop his reelection bid.
For years, investigators have been examining fraud of state funds in the state. In 2022, dozens of people – the vast majority of them Somali, although the leader was not – were charged after prosecutors say they falsely claimed to be providing meals to needy children during the Covid-19 pandemic through a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future. In all, 37 defendants have pleaded guilty, The Associated Press reported, but it’s unclear how many of them are Somali.
The scandal proved fodder for Trump’s targeted vitriol against Somalis, whom he has accused of “ripping off our country and ripping apart that once-great state” of Minnesota.
The day after Christmas, the controversy reignited with a viral video by 23-year-old conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley who claimed Somali-run child care centers were committing fraud using federal funds. His video, which received millions of views and was boosted by Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance, showed him attempting to enter child care centers in Minneapolis and claiming he wanted to enroll a child.
The video set off a firestorm – although it included little evidence for its claims, which have also been rebutted by the owners of several of the centers. State officials have since said investigators visited each of the centers featured in the video and found them all operating as expected.
But even those findings haven’t blunted the video’s explosive impact. Walz announced he would not s