All posts tagged: Somali

Somali Fraud: Three Key Takeaways From Tuesday’s Senate Hearing

Somali Fraud: Three Key Takeaways From Tuesday’s Senate Hearing

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The magnitude of Minnesota’s Somali welfare-fraud problem has only begun to surface – and it is tied to other fraud in ways that many Americans do not realize, according to statements made during a Feb. 10 Senate hearing in Washington. Sen. John Cornyn speaks on Capitol Hill on Oct. 14, 2020. Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images A subcommittee focused on immigration and border security held a two-hour hearing titled, “Somali Fraud in Minnesota—The Tip of the Iceberg.” Both houses of Congress are exploring the problem and its possible remedies. Two witnesses who testified are former State Department employees who worked abroad as foreign service officers. Both men reported seeing weaknesses in America’s systems for verifying backgrounds and identities of foreigners who apply for U.S. immigration benefits. Committee chair Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), announced he is preparing legislation to stop fraudsters from sending stolen U.S. taxpayer dollars overseas with no meaningful scrutiny. The committee’s ranking member, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said, “No one is here to defend fraud.” …

Syrian, Somali Directors on Displacement Film Fund Shorts: Rotterdam

Syrian, Somali Directors on Displacement Film Fund Shorts: Rotterdam

Published by Daniella Wilson

Last year, Cate Blanchett and the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR)’s Hubert Bals Fund unveiled the Displacement Film Fund, a scheme set up to provide five displaced directors with grants for short films that are worth €100,000 ($120,000) each. And on Friday evening, IFFR presented the world premieres of the first five shorts, made by directors from Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Ukraine, in the Dutch port city on Friday. The grant recipients were Iranian auteur Mohammad Rasoulof (The Seed of the Sacred Fig), Maryna Er Gorbach, the Ukrainian director of Klondike, Somali-Austrian filmmaker Mo Harawe (The Village Next to Paradise), Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat, who fled to Germany and will next month open the Berlin Film Festival, and Syria’s Hasan Kattan (Last Men in Aleppo). In a conversation with THR and during a Rotterdam press conference, Kattan and Harawe discussed their inspirations and hopes for their respective films. Kattan’s 40-minute-long Allies in Exile, from production company Grain Media that is also handling sales, stars himself and his best friend Fadi Al Halabi. “For 14 years, Syrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi have journeyed together …

Trump Administration Says It Is Ending Deportation Protections for Some Somali Migrants

Trump Administration Says It Is Ending Deportation Protections for Some Somali Migrants

Published by Sam Flores

Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday it will end Temporary Protected Status for immigrants from Somalia, the latest move in the president’s mass deportation agenda. The move affects hundreds of people who are a small subset of immigrants living in the United States with TPS protections. It comes during Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where many native Somalis live and where street protests have intensified since a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed a U.S citizen who was demonstrating against federal presence in the city. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that affected Somalis must leave the U.S. by March 17, when existing protections, last extended by then-President Joe Biden, will expire. “Temporary means temporary,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, adding that the decision puts “Americans first.” The Congressional Research Service last spring said the Somali TPS population was 705 out of nearly 1.3 million TPS immigrants. Trump has ended protections across multiple countries in his second presidency. Homeland Security secretary says conditions in Somalia have changed Noem insisted circumstances in …

Minnesota’s Most Notorious Somali Daycare At Center Of Fraud Scandal Abruptly Shuts Down

Minnesota’s Most Notorious Somali Daycare At Center Of Fraud Scandal Abruptly Shuts Down

Published by Jenni Sidey

The Quality Learing Center is no more.  The Minneapolis child care center thrust into the spotlight by a viral YouTube exposé on Minnesota’s rampant day care fraud scheme has officially shut down. State records confirm Quality Learning Center requested its license closure, effective Tuesday.  Late last month, independent journalist Nick Shirley released a video in which he toured nearly a dozen centers, exposing them for pocketing public funds without delivering services. Quality Learning Center stood out for its sign bearing a glaring typo – “Learing” – that operators scrambled to fix after the clip went viral. The footage captured an empty-looking facade and zero activity, fueling suspicions in a state already reeling from massive welfare scams. “Quality Learning Center closed on Tuesday, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ licensing records. The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families [DCYF] said that the center requested closure of its license effective Tuesday,” CBS News reported.  The center raked in $1.9 million from Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program in fiscal 2025. DCYF got word on December …

“Then It Is War”: Elon Musk Responds After Somali TikToker Threatens His Life

“Then It Is War”: Elon Musk Responds After Somali TikToker Threatens His Life

Published by Jenni Sidey

A Somali TikToker (account now defunct), first highlighted by Libs of TikTok, mocked Americans about alleged Somali-linked fraud in Minnesota and pushed dangerous rhetoric suggesting Elon Musk was “about to die.” Such statements fit a broader alarming pattern surrounding the Democratic Party’s normalization of assassination culture against Musk and President Trump supporters. “I wouldn’t worry too much about him. He [Musk] about to die,” TikToker “dowza.z” stated in a short 30-second clip. The account has since been taken down, and it remains unclear whether the TikToker deleted the account or whether the dangerous rhetoric directed at Musk violated the platform’s terms of service. The somali tiktoker who mocked Americans had a meltdown over Elon Musk and appeared to threaten his life: “I wouldn’t worry too much about him. He about to die.” . @FBI should definitely look into this https://t.co/37Ok26xstv pic.twitter.com/Ow8NmwFhut — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 1, 2026 Musk responded on X to DogeDesigner’s reposting of the video, saying, “Then it is war.” Then it is war https://t.co/KdlKDW6f61 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, …

Right-wing influencer’s fraud claim leads to threats for Somali day care owners : NPR

Right-wing influencer’s fraud claim leads to threats for Somali day care owners : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

A right-wing media influencer accused Somali day care operators in Minnesota of defrauding the federal government. This has led to threats against staff and a federal child care funding freeze. A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: Somali Americans in Minnesota who operate child care centers say they’ve received violent threats and have been targeted by vandalism. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: This follows posting of a video last week by a right-wing YouTube influencer that he said shows evidence of fraud at Somali American-run child care centers. The Trump administration responded to the video by suspending federal funding for child care centers, not just in Minnesota, but around the U.S. MARTÍNEZ: In a few minutes, we’ll hear from the head of a child care center advocacy group about how those cuts are affecting its members. We start, though, with details from Minnesota. MARTIN: NPR’s Brian Mann is reporting on this, and he’s with us now. Good morning, Brian. BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel. MARTIN: So Somali American day care operators in Minneapolis say they’re facing harassment and vandalism. What …

Washington State AG Warns Citizen Journalists To Stop Investigating Somali Daycares Or Face Potential Hate Crime Charges

Washington State AG Warns Citizen Journalists To Stop Investigating Somali Daycares Or Face Potential Hate Crime Charges

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness, The Washington state attorney general released a statement on X Tuesday evening warning independent journalists to stop investigating fraudulent Somali daycare centers or they could be charged with a hate crime. “My office has received outreach from members of the Somali community after reports of home-based daycare providers being harassed and accused of fraud with little to no fact-checking,” State AG Nick Brown stated. “We are in touch with the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families regarding the claims being pushed online and the harassment reported by daycare providers. Showing up on someone’s porch, threatening, or harassing them isn’t an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home. This is unsafe and potentially dangerous behavior.” Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights, issued a warning of her own in reaction to the Washington state AG’s post. “ANY state official who chills or threatens to chill a journalist’s 1A rights will have some ‘splainin to do,” she wrote on X, Wednesday morning. “[The DOJ Civil Rights Division] …

Trump Admin Freezes All Childcare Payments To Minnesota As Somali Daycare Scandal Goes Viral

Trump Admin Freezes All Childcare Payments To Minnesota As Somali Daycare Scandal Goes Viral

Published by Jenni Sidey

The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced that it has frozen all federal childcare funding for the state of Minnesota, citing rampant fraud allegations largely attributed to the Somali community.  In a post on X, Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill wrote that “You have probably read the serious allegations that the state of Minnesota has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares across Minnesota over the past decade,” which resulted in the following: 1. I have activated our defend the spend system for all ACF payments. Starting today, all ACF payments across America will require a justification and a receipt or photo evidence before we send money to a state. 2. Alex Adams and I have identified the individuals in @nickshirleyy ‘s excellent work. I have demanded from @GovTimWalz a comprehensive audit of these centers. This includes attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations, and inspections. 3. We have launched a dedicated fraud-reporting hotline and email address at https://childcare.gov Whether you are a parent, provider, or member of the general public, we want to hear …