President Donald Trump has linked his administration’s immigration crackdown on Minnesota’s Somali community to fraud cases involving government programs.

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."

Trump dubbed Minnesota “a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” after a conservative news outlet, City Journal, reported last month that taxpayer dollars from defrauded government programs have flowed to the Somali militant group al-Shabab. Federal prosecutors have not charged any defendants with supporting terrorists.

The Treasury Department is targeting businesses used to send money abroad as President Donald Trump's administration ramps up investigations into fraud within Minnesota's Somali community.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), asked by a CNN reporter about Trump’s remarks on Wednesday, defended his tone, saying Trump was "expressing his frustration about the extraordinary challenge that is presented to America when you have people coming in, not assimilating, and trying to take over the country."

The fraud allegations have been used as a justification for federal immigration enforcement against Minnesota’s Somali population.

President Donald Trump and his top officials have recently criticized Minnesota's Somali community, drawing attention to immigrants from the war-torn East African country

The president's post also singled out Gov. Tim Walz, who he called "seriously retarded," and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who immigrated from Somalia. This all comes as the Trump administration is targeting Minnesota and its Somali community with a federal immigration operation this week.

When President Donald Trump was posed a question about how Afghans in the US legally might feel about his decision to pause issuing visas for them after the suspected shooter of National Guard members was identified as an Afghan national,

President Donald Trump-ally and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell launched a Republican campaign for Minnesota governor amid investigations into Gov. Tim Walz's alleged role in COVID-19 fraud.