U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have arrested several Somali nationals in Minneapolis as part of a targeted immigration enforcement operation. The effort focused on people with deportation orders and criminal convictions, including gang-related activity and sexual offenses, according to the Department of Homeland Security and statements reported by The Daily Wire.
Federal immigration authorities arrested several Somali immigrants with criminal records during a recent operation in Minneapolis, according to a report by The Daily Wire.
More than 100 ICE officers from across the country were deployed to Minneapolis this week to target roughly 500 Somalis with deportation orders, Homeland Security sources told The Daily Wire. Within less than a week, ICE took several violent offenders off the streets.
One of those arrested was Abdulkadir Sharif Abdi, described by the Department of Homeland Security as a former member of the Gangster Disciples and a current member of the Vice Lord Nation gang. His criminal record includes convictions for fraud, receiving stolen property, receiving a stolen vehicle, vehicle theft, and multiple probation violations, according to DHS information cited by The Daily Wire.
Another individual taken into custody was Sahal Osman Shidane, who was previously convicted of criminal sexual conduct involving a minor between 13 and 15 years old, the outlet reported, citing DHS.
The Trump administration has linked the presence of such offenders in Minnesota to what it calls "sanctuary" policies. The Daily Wire reports that federal officials accuse state and local leaders of allowing noncitizens with criminal histories to be released rather than turned over to immigration authorities.
“Sanctuary policies and politicians like Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey allowed these pedophiles, domestic terrorists, and gang members to roam the streets and terrorize Americans,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Friday, according to The Daily Wire. “ICE law enforcement are risking their lives to protect Minnesotans while their own elected officials sit by and do nothing. No matter when and where, ICE will find, arrest, and deport ALL criminal illegal aliens.”
The operation comes amid heightened political scrutiny of fraud schemes involving Minnesota’s social-service and nutrition programs, several of which have involved defendants of Somali descent. A recent investigative report in City Journal, cited by The Daily Wire, alleged that fraudsters in Minnesota stole large sums in taxpayer funds and moved money through fake nonprofits and shell companies, with some of the proceeds sent to Somalia and, allegedly, to the Somali militant group Al‑Shabaab.
Separate federal and state investigations have examined large-scale fraud tied to programs such as the pandemic-era child nutrition effort run through the now-defunct nonprofit Feeding Our Future. According to federal charging documents and Justice Department statements, at least 70 to 80 defendants have been charged in connection with the Feeding Our Future scheme, in which hundreds of millions of dollars meant to feed children during COVID-19 were falsely claimed and spent on luxury vehicles, homes, and real estate in the United States and abroad, including in Turkey and Kenya.
Many of those charged in the Feeding Our Future case are members of Minnesota’s Somali community, though not all, and the nonprofit’s founder is not Somali, according to federal court records and subsequent reporting. Recent coverage by outlets including The Wall Street Journal and Yahoo News has put the number of individuals charged at roughly 78, with more than 50 having pleaded guilty as of late 2025.
The Daily Wire reported that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently said 78 Somalis have been charged in fraud schemes connected to Minnesota’s welfare and nutrition programs, and that, in one illustrative case, federal funds intended to feed children during the pandemic were used instead to purchase homes, luxury cars, and property in Turkey and Kenya. Independent reporting on the Feeding Our Future case similarly describes fraud proceeds being spent on high-end real estate and vehicles in the United States and overseas.
Allegations that some Minnesota taxpayer funds ultimately reached Al‑Shabaab remain under investigation. The U.S. Treasury Department has opened a probe into claims that money diverted through social-service fraud in Minnesota may have been funneled to the militant group, but those allegations have not been fully substantiated in court.
While Republican officials, including former President Donald Trump, have used the fraud cases and the recent ICE operation to criticize Democratic leaders such as Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, state and federal authorities have emphasized that the criminal charges apply to specific individuals and not the broader Somali-American community, which includes many U.S. citizens and legal residents.
