The U.S. government has begun a review of immigration files tied to American citizens of Somali origin, signaling a renewed push to examine whether any cases involved fraud serious enough to warrant stripping citizenship.
Federal officials say the audit is grounded in existing law, which allows citizenship to be revoked if it was obtained through deception. Such actions are uncommon and typically unfold over years, but the administration has framed the move as part of a broader effort to tighten immigration controls and root out abuse of federal systems.
Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has revived a hard-line approach to immigration, pairing stepped-up removals with visa and green card cancellations and expanded vetting that reaches into applicants’ social media histories and past public statements. Supporters argue the measures are about national security. Civil rights groups counter that they erode core protections, including due process and free expression.
In recent weeks, federal agencies have cast Minnesota’s Somali community as a focal point for alleged fraud linked to social service programs. Advocates for immigrants say that narrative unfairly paints an entire community with a broad brush, turning targeted investigations into a wider dragnet.
The focus on Minnesota has intensified. The FBI has shifted additional investigators and resources to the state, and the Department of Health and Human Services has halted child care payments there while imposing stricter documentation requirements for future disbursements nationwide. Going forward, states will need to justify requests with receipts or photographic proof before funds are released.
Minnesota’s governor has pushed back, saying the state has spent years pursuing fraud where it exists and accusing the federal government of weaponizing the issue to choke off funding for programs that residents rely on.
As the audits move ahead, the spotlight is firmly on how aggressively the administration will wield one of the most severe tools in immigration enforcement—and what it means for citizens who thought their status was long settled.
