President Donald Trump stepped up his rhetoric against Somali immigrants in the United States on Wednesday (Jan. 14), posting on Truth Social: “They should be kicked out of the US. Do it NOW! That includes their loser Rep. Omar who married her brother (gross!).”
Trump’s comments come amid an ongoing investigation into alleged financial misconduct involving the Somali immigrant community in the US.
Just the News reported that federal agents uncovered a massive cash movement operation originating in Somali communities. The operation involved couriers moving hundreds of millions of dollars in bulk cash through Minneapolis and Columbus airports before sending it overseas, often via Amsterdam to Dubai.
Federal agents investigating a Somali immigrant operation that moved large amounts of cash in suitcases from Minneapolis to overseas have uncovered a new part of the courier network at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, a report says.
According to Homeland Security officials cited by Just the News, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers tracked approximately $136 million in bulk cash in outbound baggage at passenger check-in desks at John Glenn Columbus International Airport since November 2023.
The cash was allegedly carried by American citizens of Somali descent traveling to Minneapolis or Atlanta before being shipped overseas. Officials said the couriers declared the money legally, as required on federal documents. “Usually when they go to Minneapolis, they drop off the cash and then the subsequent courier travels abroad from Minneapolis to Dubai via Amsterdam,” an official familiar with the investigation told reporters.
The operation involves several Somali communities
Officials quoted by the report said the operation appeared to involve several Somali immigrant communities in the West, Midwest and South. Luggage full of money was eventually consolidated in Minneapolis for international flights.
Just the News previously reported that the TSA uncovered nearly $700 million in cash leaving the Minneapolis airport between 2024 and 2025, often routed via Amsterdam to Dubai, where US authorities lost track of the funds. Federal officials noted that TSA alerts were conducted during the Biden administration, but received limited follow-up until President Trump took office last year.
Cash movements from Minnesota’s largest airports were reportedly 90 to 99 times larger than the amounts found at major international hubs such as New York’s JFK or Seattle and Atlanta, news outlet officials said.
Link to the Minnesota fraud scandal
The revelations come amid a federal investigation in Minnesota into welfare fraud that allegedly siphoned off up to $9 billion from taxpayers, mostly involving Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis area. The scandal ended Governor Tim Walz’s plans for re-election in 2026 and prompted President Trump to end special immigration status for Somali refugees in the US.
The House Oversight Committee launched a major fraud investigation, with the FBI and Homeland Security sending hundreds of agents to investigate. Over 90 defendants, mostly of Somali origin, were indicted, with about half having already been convicted.
Targeted MP Ilhan Omar
Trump specifically singled out Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the first Somali-American female member of Congress, and accused her of marrying his brother — a claim widely disputed and called misleading. Omar has previously been a vocal critic of Trump’s immigration policies and his administration’s approach to Somali communities.
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