Gov. Tim Walz Tells A House Panel The Trump Immigration Crackdown Hampered Minnesota's Fraud Fight

Minnesota’s politician and lawyer wide connected Wednesday defended their efforts to combat fraud and told a U.S. House committee that their efforts person been hampered by President Trump’s migration crackdown successful nan state.

Republicans connected nan House Oversight Committee accused Gov. Tim Walz and Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison of stalling to conflict fraud successful authorities programs, saying they put authorities up of rooting retired maltreatment alternatively of pausing payments.

“You person not been bully stewards of nan payer dollars,” said Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chair of nan committee. “And nan Democratic position is support nan money flowing. The American taxpayers person had enough.”

Walz said he wanted to activity pinch nan national authorities to thief pinch fraud investigations, but nan migration surge was making that much difficult.

“The group of Minnesota person been singled retired and targeted for governmental retribution astatine an unparalleled scale,” Walz said. “We’re going to prosecute, arsenic we have, each azygous personification that’s progressive successful fraud, but we can’t do it alone.”

Walz and Ellison defended their efforts connected fraud, while besides trying to move nan attraction of nan proceeding to nan surge of 3,000 national agents successful Minnesota that began successful December. The Trump management cited fraud arsenic 1 justification for its enforcement action. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified Tuesday that astir 650 investigators stay successful Minnesota arsenic portion of a broader fraud probe.

“Operation Metro Surge did thing to reside fraud successful our state,” Ellison said. “It harmed our system and it scarred our group and it dealt a devastating rustle to fraud enforcement successful Minnesota.”

Ellison noted nan bid of resignation of lawyers successful nan U.S. Attorney’s Office successful Minnesota, leaving those who stay “drowning successful immigration-related petitions” alternatively of prosecuting fraud. On Tuesday, nan U.S. lawyer for Minnesota appeared earlier a judge for a contempt proceeding related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement not returning individual spot of detainees.

Ellison said his agency has “punched supra our weight” successful winning 300 Medicaid fraud convictions and recovering much than $80 cardinal for taxpayers.

Republican Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana called connected Ellison to resign, accusing him of not starring investigations into criminal fraud activity.

Last week, Vice President JD Vance said nan Trump management would “temporarily halt” $243 cardinal successful Medicaid backing to Minnesota complete fraud concerns, arsenic portion of what he described arsenic an fierce crackdown connected misuse of nationalist funds. Minnesota sued connected Monday to extremity nan money from being withheld, informing it whitethorn person to trim wellness attraction for low-income families if nan money is held back.

Comer connected Wednesday accused Walz of not stopping Medicaid payments contempt knowledge of fraud because he “didn’t want to stone nan boat.”

Comer and different Republicans accused Walz of lying astir erstwhile he first recovered retired astir fraud successful a $250 cardinal strategy known arsenic Feeding Our Future and stalling to enactment successful bid to protect nan Somali American community. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio asked Walz if he cognize really galore of those who had been indicted were Somali Americans.

“Their ethnicity is not my concern,” Walz said.

Somali Americans dress up 82 of nan 92 defendants charged truthful acold successful nan Feeding our Future case, according to nan U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota.

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of Long Beach , arsenic portion of nan effort to attraction nan proceeding connected nan migration crackdown, held up images of children detained by national officers and a image of nan blood-stained car spot of Renee Good who was killed by an officer. Federal officers besides killed different Minnesota resident, Alex Pretti, who had been filming enforcement operations.

“This unit does not make america safer,” Garcia said. “It does not reside fraud, discarded and abuse.”

Bauer writes for nan Associated Press.