Oregon — Oregon Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama issued a public denunciation of the president’s recent actions toward Somali people and broader immigration policy. In a formal statement, he described the move as a callous insult and a sudden halt to legal immigration proceedings affecting more than a dozen countries. Jama argued the administration shows no interest in a lawful, efficient, and accountable U.S. immigration system, instead driven by racism and Islamophobia. He warned these actions sow fear and hostility in affected communities.
Jama’s remarks frame the issue as not merely political disagreement but a moral and procedural failure: the lack of lawful process, accountability, and humane treatment of immigrant communities.
President Donald Trump’s recent comments about Somali immigrants, including calling them “garbage” and asserting that Minnesota has become a center of “fraud” and “terrorist financing”, have drawn sharp criticism, even as the state continues to confront several large welfare-fraud cases that give the controversy added political weight.
Trump linked Minnesota’s Somali community to “billions” in stolen welfare funds and suggested that money had been funneled to the Somali militant group al-Shabab. Federal investigators have confirmed that major fraud cases exist, thus far a connection to terrorist activity has not been established by authorities. A recent article from City Journal has reported a connection and funding going to or a cut being taken by al-Shabab
Our investigation reveals, for the first time, that some of this money has been directed to an even more troubling destination: the al-Qaida-linked Islamic terror group Al-Shabaab. According to multiple law-enforcement sources, Minnesota’s Somali community has sent untold millions through a network of “hawalas,” informal clan-based money-traders, that have wound up in the coffers of Al-Shabaab.
According to Glenn Kerns, a retired Seattle Police Department detective who spent 14 years on a federal Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the Somalis ran a sophisticated money network, spanning from Seattle to Minneapolis, and were routing significant amounts of cash on commercial flights from the Seattle airport to the hawala networks in Somalia. One of these networks, Kerns discovered, sent $20 million abroad in a single year. “The amount of money was staggering,” Kerns said.
Kerns’s investigation eventually expanded to Minnesota, where he realized the same thing was happening. “I worked on it for five years,” Kerns said. “We had sources going into the hawalas to send money. I went down to [Minnesota] and pulled all of their records and, well shit, all these Somalis sending out money are on DHS benefits. How does that make sense? We had good sources tell us: this is welfare fraud.”
Kerns then investigated the hawalas in Somalia that were receiving the money transfers. He determined, primarily through human sources, that significant funds were being sent from America to Al-Shabaab networks in Somalia. Whether the money was intended for Al-Shabaab or not, Kerns said, they were taking a cut.
The largest proven case — the Feeding Our Future scandal — resulted in charges against dozens of defendants accused of stealing more than $250 million in federal child-nutrition funds during the pandemic. Prosecutors say much of the money went to luxury purchases and overseas property, though they have not alleged terrorist links. The case included several Somali-American defendants but also individuals from multiple backgrounds.
Separately, Minnesota shut down a Housing Stabilization Services program after uncovering tens of millions of dollars in improper claims. State officials said some funds may have been transferred abroad through informal money-moving networks, prompting a Treasury Department inquiry into whether any money reached al-Shabab. As of now, investigators have not established that taxpayer funds were knowingly diverted to terrorism.
Taken together, the dispute over Trump’s rhetoric, Jama’s condemnation, and the ongoing welfare-fraud investigations illustrates how a complex mix of verified misconduct, unproven allegations, and politically charged language can shape national debates over immigration and public trust. Significant fraud within Minnesota’s safety-net programs has been documented, yet sweeping claims of “billions” stolen or coordinated terrorist funding remain unsubstantiated by federal authorities. At the same time, the administration’s immigration freeze and the president’s dehumanizing language have raised concerns about fairness and the stigmatization of entire communities. s investigations continue, policymakers face the challenge of addressing real vulnerabilities in public programs while ensuring that enforcement actions and public discourse do not compromise the rights, dignity, or safety of lawful immigrants.
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