ICE Expands Crackdown on Somali Illegal Immigration

The Trump administration is escalating its immigration enforcement campaign, and this time it’s heading into the heartland. Federal authorities are preparing to deploy hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Kansas and Ohio as part of a widening operation targeting Somali illegal immigrants with existing deportation orders.

According to federal law enforcement sources, more than 200 ICE officers from across the country will descend on the two states in the coming days. The move follows a major enforcement operation in Minnesota that resulted in over 400 arrests and exposed a staggering fraud network tied to Somali-linked nonprofits and shell organizations.

This is not random enforcement. It is targeted, data-driven, and long overdue.

Why Kansas and Ohio?

• Both states are home to growing Somali populations, with Ohio now hosting the second-largest Somali community in the U.S.

• Unlike Minnesota, neither Kansas nor Ohio is a sanctuary state, meaning local officials are legally required to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

• Kansas passed legislation in 2022 banning sanctuary city policies, clearing the way for coordinated ICE operations without political obstruction.

The latest push comes after investigators uncovered what City Journal described as one of the largest welfare fraud schemes in U.S. history. According to reports, billions of taxpayer dollars were siphoned out of state welfare programs through fake charities and shell companies with money flowing overseas to Somalia and, in some cases, to Al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

For context, the Government Accountability Office estimates that improper payments across federal programs exceed $200 billion annually, with welfare programs among the most vulnerable. Minnesota alone lost well over $2 billion in just one fraud scandal — and that’s only what investigators have confirmed so far.

The Trump administration responded forcefully. More than 100 ICE agents were deployed to Minneapolis, specifically tasked with locating Somali nationals who were already under final deportation orders but had been allowed to remain in the country due to lax enforcement under previous administrations.

Predictably, Democratic officials rushed to defend the status quo.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey publicly condemned the operation, vowing not to cooperate with ICE and promising to “stand with” the city’s Somali community. President Trump didn’t mince words in response, calling Frey “a fool” and blasting local leaders for protecting illegal immigrants while American taxpayers foot the bill.

And the results speak for themselves. Despite political resistance, DHS confirmed the Minnesota operation alone led to more than 400 arrests, many involving individuals who had ignored deportation orders for years.

This is the core issue the Left refuses to confront:

• Immigration enforcement is not about race or religion.

• It is about law, sovereignty, and accountability.

• When illegal immigration intersects with mass fraud and terror financing, enforcement becomes a national security issue.

Al-Shabaab is responsible for thousands of deaths across East Africa and has openly declared hostility toward the United States. Federal prosecutors have long warned that charity fraud and welfare abuse are among the easiest ways for terror-linked networks to move money undetected. A 2020 Treasury Department report noted that nonprofit abuse remains one of the top methods used to finance extremist activity.

Yet for years, political leaders looked the other way terrified of offending activist groups or being labeled politically incorrect.

Those days appear to be over.

Kansas and Ohio now represent a new phase of enforcement: states where federal law can actually be enforced without mayors and governors running interference. And that’s exactly why the administration chose them.

The Department of Homeland Security has remained tight-lipped about operational details, but one thing is clear. This isn’t a one-off action. It’s part of a broader strategy to restore credibility to the immigration system and send a message that deportation orders are not optional suggestions.

For American taxpayers who have watched billions vanish into fraudulent schemes while being told enforcement is “cruel,” this operation is a long-overdue course correction.

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