Minnesota taxpayers are already staring at what could be one of the largest public fraud scandals in state history. Now, top state Democrats are asking Washington for more money.
Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are demanding federal reimbursement for costs associated with recent Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota — even as Walz’s administration remains under scrutiny for as much as $18 billion in alleged fraud tied to state social services programs by Somali immigrants in the state.
“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here,” Walz said. “There [is] going to be accountability on the things that happened, but one of the things is the incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state.”
Walz continued: “The federal government needs to be responsible. You don’t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it,” adding that he will be asking Minnesota’s congressional delegation to be “doing the things necessary.”
Mayor Frey echoed that message, estimating economic and financial costs to Minneapolis at more than $203 million.
“I’m not naive to think that we’re going to get the entire amount,” Frey told Minnesota Public Radio, claiming that roughly 76,000 Minneapolis residents require some form of relief.
City estimates cited $47 million in lost wages for people allegedly “afraid to leave home,” $81 million in small business revenue losses, and $4.7 million from hotel cancellations.
But there is a glaring political problem with that demand: immigration enforcement operations have taken place in other states without triggering the same level of unrest and economic disruption.
White House Border Czar Tom Homan rejected the premise outright.
“A lot of things were broken, but it wasn’t because of Trump administration,” Homan said on “Fox & Friends.” He also questioned Walz’s past silence on border security: “Did Governor Walz speak out against that — with the overdose deaths and sex trafficking and terrorists? No.”
The broader context makes the reimbursement request even more difficult to defend.
Minnesota’s state government is currently facing national scrutiny over a sprawling fraud scheme involving social services programs. Reports indicate that billions in taxpayer funds were siphoned by groups linked to Somali immigrants from social service programs meant to support vulnerable populations. Millions allegedly flowed back to Somalia, including to Mogadishu, with concerns raised about potential diversion into the hands of extremist networks.
At a recent Senate hearing, Minnesota journalist David Hoch testified before Sen. Ted Cruz that the total cost to taxpayers could be “easily in excess of $30 billion when you take everything into account.”
Importantly, many of the programs defrauded were funded in part or entirely by federal dollars. That means taxpayers nationwide were contributing to funds that were later looted and sent back to Somalia.
Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Lindell put it bluntly, saying Walz was “either grossly negligent, incompetent or complicit with the fraud.”
Against that backdrop, asking federal taxpayers to reimburse Minnesota for unrest tied to immigration enforcement raises serious accountability questions.
ICE officers executed a federal operation. They did not authorize property destruction. They did not instruct businesses to close. They did not mandate public panic. Local leaders are responsible for maintaining order in their jurisdictions.
If violence, vandalism, or disruption occurred, the responsibility for preventing and managing that unrest rests first with state and city leadership.
Taxpayers are right to ask: after billions vanished under state supervision, why is the solution another federal check?
Gov. Walz has since announced he will not seek a third term. The financial and political consequences of Minnesota’s fraud scandal, however, are far from over.
Before demanding reimbursement, state leaders may first need to answer a more pressing question: how did so much money disappear on their watch?
