After Christmas a 43-minute video was released by YouTube Journalist Nick Shirley, showing day care centres ran by Somalis in Minnesota seemingly closed and inactive. The video amplified the tension between Somali Americans and the Federal Government because of the focused target on this minority group that has ran throughout Trumps second term. After Shirley’s video gained millions of views across platforms, President Trump has begun federal intervention on these accusations of fraud Vice President JD Vance commenting that, “America has a bit of a Somali problem.” The White House website shows that there have been over 130 search warrants and has put a $10 billion funding freeze for childcare and social services on Minnesota. 

There were already tensions in Minnesota with Tim Waltz, Minnesota Governor, threatened national guard deployment in the state after mass protests during Trump’s increase in immigration enforcement raids in large Somali communities after stating, “we don’t want them in our country.” JD Vance has commented that Mr Shirley’s work has helped to crack down on major crimes. 

However, the video faces criticism. CBS journalists Whitney Wild confronted Shirley on how day care centres shouldn’t be open mid-day because of safety precaution. Shirley replied, “you bring up a fair point”. CBS news also spoke to one of the day care centre owners who said he didn’t open the door because he was worried it was an ICE raid. Security footage of the day of the visit from Shirley showed it open with about a dozen children inside. State officials and local media reports show all but two of the ten centres have licenses and have passed the recent inspections.  

Shirley is also facing allegations of being anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim. When he held an interview with Tommy Robinson, British far-right activist, in September 2025 he repeated the inaccurate claim that 4000 British Muslims are on the terror watchlist. 

The crack down on these crimes aren’t new. Over 80 people, the majority from Somali descent, have been being charged with connection to fraud schemes targeting government-funded programme since 2022. The Department of Homeland security has, “arrested over 1000 criminal illegal aliens.”  The stories have led to the amplified discrimination of the Minnesotan Somali community. Local news stations are now paying visits to day care centres to investigate on the basis of Shirley’s seemingly weak claims.

Minnesota is the state with the largest Somali community. It seems that Trump is using the issue to justify his attempts to abolish birth right citizenship: “We’re also going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalised immigrants from Somalia” that is guaranteed in the Fourteenth Amendment. 

Trump’s target of Somali Minnesotans can seen in the context of his frequent attacks on other minority groups. Which minority group is next?