Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made it clear that the Trump administration is not playing games when it comes to fraud in Minnesota—especially when it involves naturalized citizens.
Leavitt confirmed that the administration is actively reviewing cases involving Somali-born individuals who obtained U.S. citizenship and were later convicted of fraud, with denaturalization firmly on the table.
“I want your audience to understand this is a top priority for the administration,” Leavitt said. “The Department of Justice, as we speak, is continuing to execute search warrants and subpoenas. People will be in handcuffs as a result of the fraud that Governor Walz has allowed to occur for many, many years.”
According to Leavitt, multiple federal agencies are now swarming Minnesota after years of what critics describe as deliberate negligence by the state’s Democrat leadership.
She explained that the Department of Homeland Security is conducting door-to-door investigations at suspected fraud sites, while also continuing deportations of illegal aliens in Minnesota communities. At the same time, the Department of Health and Human Services has cut off all childcare funding to the state until the full scope of the fraud is uncovered, and the Department of Labor has launched an investigation into Minnesota’s unemployment insurance program.
But the most striking revelation came when Leavitt addressed the use of denaturalization.
“And we’re also not afraid to use naturalization,” she said. “That’s a tool at the president and the secretary of state’s disposal, and it’s one this administration has previously used before.”
Host Griff Jenkins pressed her for clarification, noting that House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) has called for the revocation of citizenship for Somalis convicted of fraud. Jenkins also cited Attorney General Pam Bondi’s statement that of the 98 individuals charged so far, 85 are of Somali descent.
“So is President Trump wanting those Somalis to have their citizenship revoked if convicted of fraud?” Jenkins asked.
Leavitt didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely,” she responded. “And it’s something the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are currently looking at right now. It’s something this administration has already done.”
The message from the White House is unmistakable: U.S. citizenship is not a shield against accountability. If it was obtained under false pretenses—or used to exploit American taxpayers—it can and will be taken away.
While Democrats and legacy media outlets predictably cry “racism,” the administration is emphasizing that this is about fraud, corruption, and the rule of law. Citizenship, the Trump administration argues, is a privilege—not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card.
And for those who abused the system? The reckoning appears to be just getting started.
