The Telegraph – There’s no sign the state is prepared to clean up its fraud mess or enforce federal immigration law. Trump has the right to intervene
Minnesota, the “land of 10,000 lakes”, was once known for its natural beauty and its residents’ superabundant American friendliness. Now it is looking more and more like a failed state.
It all began with astonishing revelations about massive welfare fraud, perpetrated in large part by members of the state’s Somali population. Some of the stolen funds, which could total as much as $9bn in Minnesota alone according to one estimate, may well have been expatriated to Somalia, where they may have ended up in the coffers of al-Shabab, a designated terrorist organisation and al-Qaeda affiliate.
Investigations have been under way for several years, and have so far resulted in criminal charges against 92 individuals, 62 of whom have been convicted.
But just as damaging as the scale of the fraud has been the suspicion that leading Democratic leaders in the state had done little to stop it. There has certainly been significant pandering among Left-wing politicians to the Somali-American vote. Some have even pointed out that the state’s new flag bears a remarkable resemblance to that of Somalia, though we are reassured that this is coincidental.
Democratic leaders, including state governor and failed 2024 vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz and “Squad” congresswoman Ilhan Omar, have angrily opposed Donald Trump’s immigration policies, appearing to believe that the US should admit unlimited migrants, even from countries with high levels of corruption.
Just before the New Year, however, the fraud scandal departed from the sober realm of federal jurisprudence for the world of viral journalism. Videos posted to YouTube by the 23-year old independent journalist Nick Shirley quickly captured the attention of Trump, Republican lawmakers, Elon Musk, and other influential personalities, who are now highlighting Minnesota as a nexus of corruption, illegal immigration, Democratic politics, organised crime, and, more recently, out-of-control street violence.
Walz denounced Republican criticism as “vile, racist lies and slander towards our fellow Minnesotans”. But the evidence is already taking its toll. Allegations of racism can’t deflect attention from the scandal or uncomfortable questions about what Walz and other leading Minnesota Democrats knew about the fraud.
The issue now confronting the US is whether state and local governments in Minnesota can really be trusted to clean up the mess or will even allow federal law to be enforced – particularly on immigration.
The department of health and human services has suspended all federal family assistance to Minnesota, which totals $185m annually, until matters are cleared up. But Trump has also lifted temporary deportation restrictions that protected some Somalians, as well as announcing that as many as 2,000 extra federal agents would be unleashed on Minnesota’s “twin cities” of Minneapolis and St Paul. This comes on top of the hundreds of other federal agents already operating in the duopolis. According to ICE’s acting director Todd Lyons, this represents the largest immigration policing operation in American history.
Trump has now placed 1,500 airborne soldiers and other troops on alert, for a potential deployment under the Insurrection Act of 1807, a measure last used in 1992, but one that allows the president to deploy the military on his own initiative to preserve law and order where they are not being enforced. Vice-president JD Vance visited ICE units in Minnesota on Thursday in a show of support.
The Democrats are fighting back. Minnesota politicians, including Walz, have instructed concerned citizens to film immigration agents committing what he calls “atrocities” in an effort to collect “evidence for future prosecution”. This followed an incident on Jan 7 in which Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent, who the White House has said was acting in self-defence.
But the behaviour of the Left in the state hardly disproves the need for federal intervention. Thousands of protesters have taken to Minnesota’s streets despite the brutal winter cold. Reports have emerged of ICE agents being physically assaulted by protesters. On Sunday, a mob of anti-Trump protesters stormed a church to disrupt a religious service.
The Trump administration blames Walz and his fellow Democrat leaders for the mess in Minnesota. “[The] Minnesota insurrection is a direct result of a FAILED governor and a TERRIBLE mayor encouraging violence against law enforcement,” posted deputy attorney general Todd Blanche on Tuesday.
Last week, Walz, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, and several other Minnesota Democrats were subpoenaed by federal investigators who believe their actions and statements may have illegally obstructed federal law enforcement. Back home, labour unions, cultural groups, and civic associations have called for the protests to escalate into an “economic blackout” set for Jan 23, an event approximating a general strike.
If the tense situation gets out of control – or even if it does not – Trump has the Insurrection Act and the armed forces at his command. The time may have come to use them.