UPDATE - US ‘looking at’ revoking citizenship for Somalis convicted of fraud: White House

ADDS REMARKS OF US PRESIDENT AND CHAIR OF HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE

By Yasin Gungor and Diyar Guldogan

ISTANBUL / WASHINGTON (AA) - The US government is “looking at” the possibility of revoking citizenship from Somalis convicted of fraud, the White House said on Wednesday.

“It’s something the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State is currently looking at right now,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News when asked whether President Donald Trump supports stripping citizenship from Somalis found guilty of fraud in the US state of Minnesota.

Leavitt said the administration is prepared to pursue denaturalization, describing it as “a tool at the president and the secretary of state’s disposal.”

She characterized the initiative as a “whole-of-government” effort and a “top priority for the administration,” adding that the Justice Department is executing search warrants and subpoenas.

“People will be in handcuffs as a result of the fraud that Governor Walz has allowed to occur for many, many years,” she said, referring to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security is conducting door-to-door investigations at potential fraud sites, while continuing deportations of undocumented immigrants in Minnesota communities.

In a separate social media post, President Donald Trump also commented on the matter, claiming that the alleged cases of fraud were directly linked to immigrants from Somalia.

Through his social media company Truth Social, Trump called for their deportation of people who entered the US illegally from Somalia, accusing them of "up to 90%" of the fraud committed in the state.

- 'Perhaps the worst, and most corrupt, country on earth'

Trump also attacked Ilhan Omar, a member of the House of Representatives for Minnesota, repeating long-disputed allegations about her personal life without providing evidence.

"Much of the Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused by people that came into our Country, illegally, from Somalia. 'Congresswoman' Omar, an ungrateful loser who only complains and never contributes, is one of the many scammers. Did she really marry her brother?" he wrote.

Trump also described Somalia as “perhaps the worst, and most corrupt, country on earth."

Separately, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer announced a hearing next month examining alleged fraud and misuse of federal funds in Minnesota’s social services programs.

Comer invited Gov. Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to testify before the committee on Feb. 10, 2026.

"American taxpayers demand and deserve accountability for the theft of their hard-earned money," Comer said in a statement.

The Justice Department said Monday it charged 98 individuals in a wide-ranging fraud investigation in Minnesota, with Attorney General Pam Bondi stating 85 are of Somali descent.

FBI Director Kash Patel said Sunday that significant progress has been made investigating a "large-scale" fraud operation in Minnesota that administration officials claim exploited federal food aid programs for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US Health and Human Services Department stopped all federal child care funding to Minnesota on Tuesday following the allegations.

Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill and Assistant Secretary Alex Adams said on US social media company X that they were also establishing new nationwide requirements for child care payments.

The department said payments managed by the Administration for Children and Families would require documentation and photographic proof or receipts before funds would be distributed to states.