‘Family’ Remark Ignites Bipartisan Firestorm

As federal fraud raids sweep Minnesota, Minneapolis’ mayor is telling one of the most targeted communities, “we see you as family” — and both parties are furious for very different reasons.

Story Snapshot

Mayor Jacob Frey is backing aggressive fraud prosecutions while rejecting “collective blame” of Minnesota’s Somali community.
Republicans say his “family” rhetoric shields fraudsters amid massive welfare and childcare fraud scandals.
Somali residents fear Operation Metro Surge-style crackdowns and immigration raids will treat them as suspects first, citizens last.
Both left and right see a system where fraud thrives, elites blame scapegoats, and ordinary people pay the price.

What Mayor Frey Actually Said To The Somali Community

At a Somali Independence Day event in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey told Somali residents, “We do not see you as immigrants. We see you as our family.”^[3] He praised their “resilience, culture, and leadership” and said they have “done so much” for the city.^[4] Frey also linked his remarks to Operation Metro Surge, saying, “Through the most difficult of times and through Operation Metro Surge, we all saw that they tried to come for some of us… we say that you’re coming for all of us.”^[4]

These comments came as Minnesota again faces headlines over major fraud scandals tied to social programs and childcare centers. A Republican-led House Oversight Committee has highlighted more than 110 people charged and about $300 million allegedly stolen, noting that many defendants are Somali immigrants.^[4] Conservative outlets framed Frey’s “family” line as pandering to a voting bloc under investigation. Supporters say he is trying to keep one community from being blamed for the crimes of a few.

Fraud Is Real — And Frey Admits It

In a separate national interview on “Meet the Press,” Frey made it clear the fraud is not fake or exaggerated.^[6] He said “the fraud is genuine” and “indeed substantial” and that “everybody could have done more to prevent fraud,” including state and local leaders.^[6] He insisted that people who committed fraud must be investigated, charged, prosecuted, and “put in jail as individuals,” stressing this twice. Frey then drew his main line: “You cannot hold an entire community, any community, responsible for the actions of individuals.”^[6]^[9]

This stance puts him in a strange political spot. On one side, many conservatives see billions wasted in public programs while working Americans struggle with prices, taxes, and shrinking trust in government. On the other, many immigrants and minorities fear that federal crackdowns use fraud as the excuse while the real target is them. Frey says both can be true: fraud needs tough enforcement, and yet no ethnic or religious group should be treated as guilty by association.^[6]

Operation Metro Surge And Fears Of Collective Punishment

Operation Metro Surge was a Trump-era federal initiative that sent extra immigration and fraud enforcement agents into the Twin Cities after reports of massive social services fraud.^[12]^[13] A fact sheet filed in Minnesota v. Noem describes the operation as a broad “surge” effort, with civil rights lawyers later arguing it chilled free speech and targeted immigrant communities under the banner of fraud enforcement.^[13]^[17] Public records show the operation produced penalties and arrests but also raised questions about who was really being targeted and why.^[13]

Frey’s Somali Independence Day remarks suggested that during Operation Metro Surge, “they tried to come for some of us,” and that in response, “you’re coming for all of us.”^[4] He has also spoken out when new waves of federal agents were reported. In a separate press event, Frey told Somali residents in Somali and English, “We love you, we stand with you, and we aren’t backing down,” while explaining their legal rights if agents show up at their doors.^[5]^[8] He argued the local Somali community was “under attack” and insisted that local police would not help federal officers track immigration status.^[2]^[8]

How Right And Left Are Reading The Same Events

For many conservatives, the story looks simple: federal prosecutors say there is large-scale fraud in Minnesota, including daycare and food programs; they see mayors and governors slow-walking enforcement while lecturing citizens about racism.^[4]^[14] They hear Frey call Somali residents “family” in the same breath that national media report hundreds of millions in stolen funds, and they see proof that the “deep state” and local elites protect favored groups while taxpayers get ripped off. Social media reactions calling Frey a “traitor” reflect that anger.

Minneapolis mayor tells Somali community: 'We see you as our family' https://t.co/PsVqi4ybsI I see both as F*ing traitors.

— Khayne44 (@WilliamRin14644) June 29, 2026

For many liberals and civil rights advocates, the pattern looks different. They see fraud investigations that quickly become a way to smear entire immigrant communities, especially Somalis, in speeches and cable segments. They note that academic work on fraud enforcement warns against “blame and shame” approaches that shift anger from the real perpetrators to whole groups who share a nationality or religion.^[19] They hear Trump call Minnesota a “hub” of Somali-linked fraud and worry that law enforcement will treat Somali names and neighborhoods as red flags in themselves.

What This Says About A Failing System

Underneath the partisan shouting, this fight exposes a deeper breakdown that many Americans on both sides now recognize. Federal fraud crackdowns rarely reach the well-connected contractors and officials who designed loose, easy-to-abuse programs in the first place. Instead, enforcement often falls hardest on front-line operators and on immigrant neighborhoods that rely on those programs. At the same time, billions vanish while leaders trade blame on television, and the basic promise that tax money will be used honestly keeps getting broken.

Mayor Frey’s message — “target fraudsters, not communities” — points to what many reasonable people across the spectrum say they want: strong, fair enforcement that follows evidence, not ethnicity.^[3]^[6] Yet neither Congress nor federal agencies have been willing to release full demographic data on who gets investigated, who gets charged, and who walks away. Until that happens, both stories will survive: one where immigrant “families” are really crime rings, and one where fraud is the excuse used by a distant government to keep entire communities afraid and in line.