In a contentious U.S. cabinet meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem launched a sharp attack on Minnesota's Democratic Governor, Tim Walz, alleging widespread fraud in the state's visa programs. The remarks, made on December 2, 2025, were followed by former President Donald Trump making disparaging comments about Somali immigrants.
Noem's Fraud Allegations and Attack on Walz
Addressing the cabinet and President Trump, Kristi Noem stated she had investigated Minnesota's visa programs as instructed. She declared that a staggering 50% of the state's visas are "fraudulent." She placed the blame squarely on Governor Tim Walz, whom she called a "wacko."
"Which means that that wacko Gov. Walz either is an idiot or he did it on purpose — and I think he’s both, sir," Noem said, eliciting laughter from others in the room. She elaborated without providing specific evidence, claiming individuals were brought in illegally, misrepresenting their identities, and that some had fraudulent marriages.
Noem further alleged that those with fraudulent applications had signed up for government benefit programs, costing taxpayers "hundreds of billions of dollars." She vowed to remove them and recover the funds. She also used the platform to criticize President Joe Biden's immigration policies, accusing him of using the Department of Homeland Security to "invade the country with terrorists" by opening borders.
Trump's Comments on Somali Immigrants and Ilhan Omar
During the same meeting, Donald Trump turned his focus to Somali immigrants in the United States. He stated he does not want Somali immigrants in the country, insisting "they contribute nothing," and urged them to "go back to where they came from."
He then targeted Somali-born Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who represents Minnesota, calling her "garbage." Omar's family fled the civil war in Somalia in 1991, eventually settling in Minnesota. She became a U.S. citizen in 2000.
"These are people who do nothing but complain. They complain, and from where they came from, they got nothing," Trump said. "When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don't want them in our country. Let them go back to where they came from and fix it."
Context: The Minnesota Fraud Investigation
The political accusations come amid an ongoing federal probe. Earlier in the week, the U.S. House Oversight Committee and Treasury Department announced an investigation into a alleged "massive fraud" scheme. The probe focuses on claims that Somali immigrants defrauded over $1 billion from taxpayers through programs meant to fund school meal initiatives.
When questioned by the New York Times about program integrity, Governor Walz acknowledged that systems designed to help people can be exploited. He stated the programs are "set up to move money to people" and "improve people’s lives," but conceded that "in many cases, the criminals find the loopholes."
The exchange highlights the increasingly heated rhetoric around immigration and federal-state relations as the 2025 political landscape takes shape, with Minnesota's significant Somali immigrant community at the centre of the debate.
