CBS News has confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations targeting Somali immigrants are underway in the Twin Cities.
The intensified action follows President Trump’s statement a day earlier: “I don’t want [Somalis] in our country.”
Last week, in a Thanksgiving post in which he also used a slur for people with intellectual disabilities to refer to Gov. Tim Walz, Mr. Trump claimed Somali refugees are “completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”
Mr. Trump also previously ordered a reexamination of all green card holders from Somalia and more than a dozen other countries, and said he would end temporary protected status for Somalis living in Minnesota.
A U.S. official said Tuesday that ICE planned to surge resources to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area to target individuals with deportation orders. A person familiar with the planning said hundreds of people were expected to be targeted.
Noem claimed 50% of visas in Minnesota are “fraudulent.” Is that claim accurate?
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said during President Trump’s final cabinet meeting of the year that half of the visas in Minnesota are “fraudulent.”
Noem did not provide evidence. CBS Minnesota requested data from the department on Wednesday, but a spokesperson has not responded.
Ana Pottraz Acosta, a visiting professor at the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School, said Noem’s claim “doesn’t sound plausible.” She noted that immigration fraud rates remain relatively low because the penalties are severe.
“If you file an application that is fraudulent, it results in a bar for you being able to get any other immigration benefits in the future,” she said.
Minnesota DFL: ‘We stand with our Somali community’
The Minnesota DFL Party says it is making the state’s values “unmistakably clear” after President Trump called Somali people “garbage.” The party released the following statement:
“The reported ramp up of ICE operations disappearing people from Minnesota streets is exactly the kind of targeting of human beings our state rejects. Minnesotans don’t stand for this,” said Chair Richard Carlbom. “It’s a distraction from the Trump Administration’s failure to make life affordable for Americans. When one community is targeted, Minnesotans should take notice. We stand with our Somali community and every family facing this threat.”
By Cole Premo
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/live-updates/ice-somali-immigrants-minneapolis-st-paul/#post-update-1ee840ea
5:28 PM / December 3, 2025
More on the scope of the Feeding Our Future fraud cases
A federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota began after President Trump learned about dozens of federal convictions and the ongoing fraud cases in the state. The total cost of the fraud exceeds $1 billion.
These cases date back to 2022, and investigators say more indictments are expected. Many suspects already charged are still awaiting trial.
There are three separate fraud cases involving federal tax dollars in Minnesota. The largest is the Feeding Our Future case, connected to programs created during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that claimed to serve meals to children — meals prosecutors say were never provided.
In that scheme, 87 people have been charged and 61 convicted so far.
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