Analysis: United States

A US news investigation reports that Stephen Miller spent a year pressing federal agencies over Minnesota’s Somali community. The White House says the aim was fraud, and Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future child-meals fraud case shows that some fraud was real.

What the Investigation Reports

Stephen Miller was until now deputy chief of staff and a leading figure in President Trump’s immigration policy. Trump named him chief of staff (the president’s top aide) on Friday 6 November 2026, replacing Susie Wiles, the outgoing chief of staff.

He takes over on Monday 9 November, days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the 3 November midterms. A US news investigation published on Friday 6 November, based on a recording of a December 2025 White House call, reports on his past year.

The Rio Times has not heard the recording, and no second outlet has independently confirmed it. We therefore present everything from it as reported claims, not as our own findings.

On that call, the report says, Miller asked administration officials about fraud linked to immigrants, Minnesota and the state’s Somali population nine times in about ten minutes. When an official described a fraud case in Florida, the report says he cut in.

When told of a criminal investigation in the Eastern District of Virginia, a federal prosecutors’ region, he reportedly answered, “I hear you, but that’s a long way off from Minneapolis.” The report says Miller seemed uninterested when fraud cases did not prominently involve immigrants.

The investigation also says Miller’s directives on Minnesota fraud reached at least five federal agencies in the past year. They touched access to food aid and health services, and how Somalis and others send money to relatives abroad.

Two administration officials told the investigation that some colleagues wanted a broader approach to fraud. One of them said the focus was on “the specific population of immigrants” rather than fraud in general and called the campaign “inane”; a separate source close to the White House called it “a passion project for him”.

What the Public Record Shows

Feeding Our Future, a Minnesota non-profit, defrauded a federal child-meals programme during Covid, in a scheme prosecutors put at about US$250 million. Its leader, Aimee Bock, was sentenced on Thursday 21 May 2026 to 500 months (about 41 years 8 months) in federal prison.

A White House official says the Somali population was “a large part of the massive fraud in the state”, and we have not found an official count of defendants by origin. We cannot verify the White House’s description of how large that share was.

Most Somali Minnesotans are not accused of anything. Individual defendants are not a community, and the crimes of some people say nothing about their neighbours.

On Friday 7 August 2026 the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the US Treasury’s financial-crime unit, renewed an order for 180 days. It requires certain banks and money-transfer firms in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, which cover Minneapolis and St Paul, to report international transfers of US$3,000 or more.

Treasury says part of the money diverted in Minnesota’s fraud schemes was laundered overseas. The renewed order runs from 11 August 2026 until about early February 2027.

The north front of the White House in Washington, July 2007. Photo: Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

What the White House Says

A White House official told the investigation the call “was focused on rooting out fraud in Minnesota”. The official added that there is “no denying the Somali population was a large part of the massive fraud in the state”.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said President Trump has launched “an all-out war on fraud across the entire federal government”. Those are the administration’s own words, and readers can weigh them against the court record above.

Why It Matters Beyond Minnesota

Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United States. Earlier this autumn, Minnesota leaders rebuked Trump’s 8 October post on Somalis.

Remittances, the money Somalis abroad send home, are a major pillar of Somalia’s economy. World Bank data put them at roughly 18% of Somalia’s GDP in 2024 (the value of everything the country produces) in recent years.

That is why rules on money transfers matter far beyond Minnesota, although no figures yet show any effect on flows. Our explainer on who wants what in Somalia gives the wider political picture.

Washington’s attention to the country is not new, as our report on Somalia on the US Coast Guard port-risk list shows. Both pieces help place the Minnesota story in a wider frame.

What It Means for You

If you are a Somali American, the reported focus may bring closer scrutiny of benefits and of money sent to family, and banks in two Minnesota counties already report transfers of US$3,000 or more. If you send money to Somalia, ask your provider whether a reporting rule applies where you live.

If you are a US reader, the story shows how a single fraud case can shape the priorities of federal agencies. The outcome will depend on what Miller does in his new role.

What Is Not Known

We do not know whether the recording is authentic in full, because we have not heard it. We also do not know what the five agencies actually changed.

It is unclear whether the pressure continues under Miller’s new role. The effect on remittance flows is unknown, because no figures exist yet.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the federal department for border and immigration enforcement, published a notice on 14 January 2026 ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalia from 17 March 2026. TPS lets people from crisis countries stay legally, and we have not confirmed the current legal status, because court action has been reported.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the investigation say Miller did?

It reports that Miller’s directives on Minnesota fraud reached at least five federal agencies in the past year. They touched food aid, health services and how people send money abroad.

What does the White House say?

A White House official says the call was focused on rooting out fraud in Minnesota. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis says President Trump has launched “an all-out war on fraud across the entire federal government”.

What is the US$3,000 transfer rule?

FinCEN renewed an order requiring certain banks and money-transfer firms in Hennepin and Ramsey counties to report international transfers of US$3,000 or more. It runs until about early February 2027.