Federal agents conducting raids tied to investigation into alleged welfare fraud in Minnesota

It was not immediately clear how many raids occurred on Tuesday morning. The raids were not connected to immigration operations.

By Michael Kosnar and Rebecca Cohen

April 28, 2026, 5:31 AM PDT 

Updated April 28, 2026, 10:11 AM PDT

Federal law enforcement agencies are conducting a series of raids connected to the investigation into alleged welfare fraud in Minnesota on Tuesday morning, federal authorities have said.

The raids are not part of an immigration enforcement operation.

“Today the FBI with federal, state and local law enforcement is involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation,” a spokesperson for the Justice Department said.

At least 22 federal search warrants were executed in Minnesota on Tuesday morning, a senior Justice Department official told NBC News. It was not immediately clear how many total raids occurred.

"The task force and the DOJ will be relentless in exposing these fraudsters wherever they may be hiding," said Vice President J.D. Vance in a post on X Tuesday morning.

At least one of the raids appears to be at the Somali Senior Center and Adult Day Services facility, as federal law enforcement can be seen going in and out of the building.

The facility did not answer a call from NBC News on Tuesday morning.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., thanked the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security “for taking action against Somali fraudsters” in a statement Tuesday.

“President Trump and his administration have made it crystal clear — our country will not tolerate waste, fraud, and abuse, and we are not going to allow people to take advantage of Americans’ generosity,” Emmer said. “Minnesotans and U.S. taxpayers across the nation are grateful.”

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In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security said the agency "executed criminal search warrants in Minneapolis relating to the rampant fraud of American taxpayers' dollars," adding that DHS "will continue working to deliver answers to the American people on how their taxpayer dollars were abused."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — a Democrat — appeared to laud the collaboration between state and federal agencies that carried out the fraud raids Tuesday, saying, "Today’s raids by state and federal law enforcement happened because our state agencies caught irregular behavior and reported it."

"That’s how the system is supposed to work, and our agencies will keep at it as long as there are fraudsters around to put behind bars," Walz wrote on X.

"If you commit fraud in Minnesota, you’re going to get caught — and that’s exactly what we saw today," Walz wrote on X. "We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information. Joint investigations work, and securing justice depends on it."

The governor continued: "Now let’s work on a joint investigation into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — instead of cherry picking when we seek justice and when we turn a blind eye."