Somalis under attack and ICE murder of Good: What is happening in Minnesota?

On Wednesday morning, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was driving near her home in Minneapolis after dropping off her six-year-old son, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents approached her vehicle. One of them, captured on video, fatally shot her through her car window at close range.

In the weeks leading up to Good's killing, there had been a growing panic in the right-wing media over fraud at Somali daycare facilities in Minnesota. Federal investigators were deployed to the state to investigate allegations of fraud, primarily amongst members of the state’s Somali community.

The recent headlines have largely been driven by Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old YouTube influencer, who has been going door to door at Somali daycares, claiming to investigate alleged fraud.

In 2024, he attended a presidential roundtable discussion for right-wing media figures. With over a million followers, Shirley has had the ears of Trump and other White House officials.

Though Shirley wasn't the first to raise the issue, he has been instrumental in generating publicity and raising questions about the potential of more wrongdoing.

What is the background of the ongoing investigations?

Investigations into caregiver fraud in Minnesota have been ongoing for at least a decade. Until now, they have mostly been covered by local media.

One of the earlier investigations in the early 2010s led to the nearly 100 charges against four daycare employees in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, who authorities said bilked taxpayers out of more than $4 million. Allegations in this case included overstating employees' working hours, accepting fraudulent payments, and tax evasion.

This case led to several similar investigations of Somali-run daycares in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.

One of the biggest investigations was of Feeding Our Future, a pandemic-era organisation established in 2020 with the stated goal of feeding local children. In 2022, federal prosecutors under the Biden administration filed charges against the nonprofit. Prosecutors said they had committed $250 million in fraud. In 2021, Feeding Our Children sued the federal government to resume payments, and the payment freeze was later lifted.

During this time, Feeding Our Future, led by Aimee Bock, a white woman, used political ties with local and state Democratic politicians to argue that the investigation was racially motivated, as the majority of staff were from the Somali community.

It was later acknowledged that state officials were reluctant to pursue an investigation out of concern for appearing racist.

Why are Somalis in Minnesota being targeted?

As noted, a high proportion of Somalis have been involved in some of the most egregious cases of fraud. However, the focus of the administration and many other Republicans has been on their denaturalisation and deportation, despite most Somali Americans being law-abiding citizens.

Trump has repeatedly suggested denaturalising and deporting Somalis.

In a Truth Social post in late December, the US president wrote that "much of Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused by people that came into our Country, illegally, from Somalia."

"Send them back from where they came, Somalia, perhaps the worst and most corrupt country on earth," he added.

In the same post, he accused Representative Ilhan Omar, without evidence, of being a scammer.

Also in late December, House Majority Leader Tom Emmer of Minnesota called on Somalis who had committed fraud to be deported.

"I have three words regarding Somalis who have committed fraud against American taxpayers: Send them home. If they're here illegally, deport them immediately; if they're naturalised citizens, revoke their citizenship and deport them quickly thereafter," he wrote on X. "If we need to change the law to do that, I will."

How do these cases of fraud compare with others?

Fraud can occur in any community or state and is regularly investigated when plausible allegations arise.

Compared with other states, California is estimated to have $250 billion in fraud, according to a recent report released by Republican candidates.

In December 2024, under then-President Joe Biden, Mississippi was ordered to repay the federal government $101 million in welfare money, though Trump later rescinded the order.

Apart from state cases, some of Trump's critics have pointed out that he has pardoned multiple people convicted of high-level fraud.

What's the fallout now?

The fallout from the Minnesota fraud cases has been widespread.

In December, the Health and Human Services announced it would freeze all funding for childcare in Minnesota. According to the HHS, the state receives $185 million annually from federal funding. In early January, HHS announced it would be freezing $10 billion in childcare funding for five Democratic-run states.

In addition, Somali communities in other states, such as Maine, are facing fraud allegations. The state has paused Medicaid funds to a local Somali charity after an audit

Minnesota Governor (and former Democratic Vice presidential nominee) Tim Walz announced earlier this month that he would no longer be running for another term, following extensive news coverage linking him to fraud cases in his state.

Over the weekend, the Trump administration announced it would be sending hundreds more federal agents to Minnesota, as thousands across the state continue to protest the presence of ICE.