It’s the latest show of federal force in the state — home to the country’s.
Deputy Secretary of HHS announced the funding freeze on X Tuesday, weeks after in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to specifically target undocumented Somali immigrants, precipitated by revelations about as well as President Donald Trump’s comments that he “doesn’t want” Somalis in the country.
The stepped-up effort also comes days after, who has created anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos in the past, posted a viral video in which he claimed to find widespread fraud at Somali-run child care centers. which includes limited evidence for the creator’s allegations, has received more than 2.6 million views on YouTube as of Wednesday and was retweeted by Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel and former Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk.
To receive funding, child care centers suspected of committing fraud will be subject to an “additional level of verification,” including providing complaints, internal state discrepancies and attendance and inspection records, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told CNN. “Administrative data” will be expected from other centers in the country, he added.
“Funds will be released only when states prove they are being spent legitimately,” O’Neill said.
Minnesota receives $185 million in federal child care funding for 19,000 children, the agency said in its post. The announcement did not specify any alternate plans for families across the state who will be affected by the freeze.
“If we allow this funding freeze to happen, all Minnesotans are going to suffer,” Minnesota state Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn, co-chair of the Children and Families Committee, said at a news conference Wednesday. “Instead of tearing down our Somali community and our child care centers, let’s lift them up. Let’s make sure that our children have safe places to learn and grow.”
“Minnesota is one of the more expensive states in the nation to afford child care,” Kotyza-Witthuhn continued. “These aren’t exorbitant amounts of money. They’re just real numbers because it is costly to provide quality care for kids.”
While there are legal avenues for the federal and state government to ensure programs are being run properly, “this hasty scorched earth attack is not just wrong, it may well be illegal, and my team and I remain committed to protecting the people of Minnesota to the fullest extent of the law,” Carin Mrotz, a senior adviser with the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, said in a statement on behalf of state Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Child care center providers at the news conference warned the funding freeze could soon have a direct impact on the families they serve.
One child care center director said 75% of the children at her program qualify for state child care funding, and that her center would close in a month without assistance funding. Another, Maria Snider, said many families at her St. Paul center are one paycheck away from becoming homeless.
“I’m generally scared for what can happen next if funding is stopped, and I can’t help but think that this is part of a larger design plan and strategy to cut public funding,” Snider said.
She said child care providers are subject to “extremely detailed,” randomized audits that include attendance records.
