SBA launches federal probe into Somali community groups linked to $1 billion Minnesota COVID fraud scandal involving Gov. Tim Walz's administration.

Salman Fiqy, a Somali American in Minnesota who emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal supporters within the community, spoke to the Sahan Journal in July 2024, about how he squared Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric, including the 2017 "Muslim ban."

Federal law enforcement agents have started operations in Minnesota aimed at Somali immigrants living in the country illegally

Most Somalis in the Twin Cities are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. The Trump administration has started a crackdown on Somalis who are subject to deportation.

The White House is sharply criticizing Minnesota’s handling of a major pandemic-era fraud case, arguing that state leaders failed to act as the scheme grew and allowed more than a billion dollars in federal child-nutrition money to be stolen.

As ICE begins operations in Minnesota, ABC 6 looked at the numbers regarding the Somali population in the state.

The prospect of an immigration operation centered on Somali migrants is likely to deepen tensions in Minnesota as Trump has become increasingly focused on people of Somalian descent living in the U.S., saying recently that they “have caused a lot of trouble,” rhetoric that community leaders say has inflamed tensions and revived fears of profiling.

President Trump earlier called Somali immigrants living in the country "garbage" and said he wants them to leave. On the ground in Minnesota, community leaders decried the actions.