Trump Admin Calls On Walz To Resign Over Widening Fraud Scandal
President Trump’s education secretary has criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his handling of an expanding fraud scandal, calling for his resignation in a sharply worded letter that also raises concerns about alleged misconduct within the state’s higher education system.
“You have been Minnesota’s Governor since 2019,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon wrote to Walz in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. “During that time, your careless lack of oversight and abuse of the welfare system has attracted fraudsters from around the world, especially from Somalia, to establish a beachhead of criminality in our country. As President Trump put it, you have turned Minnesota into a ‘fraudulent hub of money laundering activity.’”
McMahon ended her letter by imploring Walz to step down.
“Given your dereliction of the office entrusted to you by Minnesotans, I implore you to resign and make way for more capable leadership,” she wrote.
The letter focuses on Minnesota’s large-scale fraud scandal, which has drawn national scrutiny following allegations that nonprofits, including Feeding Our Future, misappropriated at least $1 billion in taxpayer funds during Walz’s tenure as governor. The education secretary also cited what the department described as widespread fraud within Minnesota’s higher education system.
Separately, the Department of Education announced last week that it had prevented more than $1 billion in fraudulent student aid during President Trump’s first year back in office, citing increased enforcement against suspected automated applications and so-called “ghost students” seeking federal loans.
One of the alleged schemes disproportionately affected Minnesota. According to Fox News Digital, Riverland Community College averaged more than 100 potentially fraudulent student aid applications per year.
McMahon said her department identified nearly 2,000 so-called “ghost students” linked to colleges and universities in Minnesota.
“We call these fraudsters ‘ghost students’ because they were not ID-verified and often did not live in the United States, or they simply did not exist,” McMahon wrote. “In Minnesota, 1,834 ghost students were found to have received $12.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants and loans. They collected checks from the federal government, shared a small portion of the money with the college, and pocketed the rest without attending the college at all.”
She said the department has since implemented stricter nationwide safeguards, including mandatory identity verification for certain first-time applicants, before turning her attention to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
McMahon wrote that Omar borrowed “tens of thousands” in student loans and “now does not think she should have to repay, despite her generous, taxpayer-funded salary.”
A conservative watchdog group last month called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to pursue garnishment of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s congressional wages over her student loan debt, citing her $174,000 annual salary, Alpha News reported. In her letter, McMahon accused Omar of having “taken advantage” of federal taxpayers.
The letter also criticized Gov. Walz beyond education policy, alleging that his administration oversaw what federal officials described as widespread welfare fraud affecting multiple assistance programs, including housing aid, food assistance, small-business relief, and services for seniors and children with autism.
According to the letter, the fraud allowed perpetrators to enrich themselves while the governor “did absolutely nothing” to prevent it.
“Shame on you, Governor Walz, for allowing this to happen and for benefiting from it,” McMahon wrote. “Stop defrauding American taxpayers. No politician is above the law, and my department, alongside every other agency under the leadership of President Trump, will continue to ensure that you will not be able to dodge accountability for your actions.”
Last week, Walz announced the launch of a new statewide fraud prevention program and the hiring of a private forensic auditing firm.
“I take full responsibility for it,” Walz said. “I think, and I will acknowledge certainly to Minnesotans and to the press here, I don’t think we’ve done a good enough job of communicating the hard work that’s being done.”
DOJ Indicts 14 Members Of ‘Extensive’ Migrant Smuggling Operation
The Justice Department announced that it has charged 14 members of an “extensive alien smuggling organization,” while eight other people were also arrested for smuggling hundreds of illegal migrants into the U.S.
A grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, returned an indictment against 14 individuals for conspiracy to transport, harbor, and bring illegal aliens into the United States. According to a DOJ press release, eight of those charged were arrested.
The Justice Department announced that it has charged 14 members of an “extensive alien smuggling organization,” while eight other people were also arrested for smuggling hundreds of illegal migrants into the U.S.
A grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, returned an indictment against 14 individuals for conspiracy to transport, harbor, and bring illegal aliens into the United States. According to a DOJ press release, eight of those charged were arrested.
“Today’s indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle aliens into and throughout the United States at great danger to the aliens, resulting in the death of one person,” said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“The Justice Department worked with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to dismantle an alien smuggling organization based in Mexico that has allegedly smuggled hundreds of illegal aliens, including unaccompanied children, through New Mexico and South Texas,” Bacon continued.
“We are committed to eliminating transnational alien smuggling organizations that exploit migrants purely for profit and undermine our national security.”
According to the indictment, the defendants were involved in a conspiracy to unlawfully bring undocumented individuals from Mexico into the United States via the southern border. The indictment claims that the defendants also facilitated the transportation of these individuals within the U.S. and concealed them in “stash houses” along the route, said the press release.
In some instances, the defendants allegedly evaded law enforcement by driving at high speeds and advising the undocumented individuals on how to flee from U.S. Border Patrol and bypass checkpoints. The indictment further alleges that one undocumented individual died from heat exposure during a smuggling attempt and was abandoned in the desert, the DOJ added.
“Human smuggling organizations threaten our national security and exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, putting their lives at risk and undermining public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for the District of New Mexico.“The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Mexico is committed to continuing to work with our federal, state and local partners to dismantle transnational human smuggling organizations, hold their leaders accountable, and seize the illicit proceeds generated by these exploitative enterprises,” Kastrin continued.
The arrests come following a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump ordering reversals of nearly all of the Biden-Harris immigration and border policies that essentially created an “open border” situation for most of their four-year term.
During the last administration, it is estimated that nearly 8 million people were detected crossing illegally into the U.S. under Biden-Harris.
“We are appreciative of our brave law enforcement partners for their continued vigilance in investigating and apprehending members of transnational criminal organizations who conspire to undermine our nation’s immigration laws for their profit, with a callous and reckless disregard for the sanctity of life,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens.
“As this case sadly demonstrates, human smuggling is a crime that takes lives and puts the public at risk. ICE HSI is passionately devoted to using its abundant authority to identify, investigate, and arrest criminals who prey on the vulnerabilities of people they treat as human cargo,” Stevens noted further, per the DOJ press release.
Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to bring, transport, and harbor illegal aliens in the United States. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, the DOJ added in its press release.
“Today’s indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle aliens into and throughout the United States at great danger to the aliens, resulting in the death of one person,” said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
“The Justice Department worked with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to dismantle an alien smuggling organization based in Mexico that has allegedly smuggled hundreds of illegal aliens, including unaccompanied children, through New Mexico and South Texas,” Bacon continued.
“We are committed to eliminating transnational alien smuggling organizations that exploit migrants purely for profit and undermine our national security.”
According to the indictment, the defendants were involved in a conspiracy to unlawfully bring undocumented individuals from Mexico into the United States via the southern border. The indictment claims that the defendants also facilitated the transportation of these individuals within the U.S. and concealed them in “stash houses” along the route, said the press release.
In some instances, the defendants allegedly evaded law enforcement by driving at high speeds and advising the undocumented individuals on how to flee from U.S. Border Patrol and bypass checkpoints. The indictment further alleges that one undocumented individual died from heat exposure during a smuggling attempt and was abandoned in the desert, the DOJ added.
“Human smuggling organizations threaten our national security and exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, putting their lives at risk and undermining public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for the District of New Mexico.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Mexico is committed to continuing to work with our federal, state and local partners to dismantle transnational human smuggling organizations, hold their leaders accountable, and seize the illicit proceeds generated by these exploitative enterprises,” Kastrin continued.
The arrests come following a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump ordering reversals of nearly all of the Biden-Harris immigration and border policies that essentially created an “open border” situation for most of their four-year term.
During the last administration, it is estimated that nearly 8 million people were detected crossing illegally into the U.S. under Biden-Harris.
“We are appreciative of our brave law enforcement partners for their continued vigilance in investigating and apprehending members of transnational criminal organizations who conspire to undermine our nation’s immigration laws for their profit, with a callous and reckless disregard for the sanctity of life,” said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens.
“As this case sadly demonstrates, human smuggling is a crime that takes lives and puts the public at risk. ICE HSI is passionately devoted to using its abundant authority to identify, investigate, and arrest criminals who prey on the vulnerabilities of people they treat as human cargo,” Stevens noted further, per the DOJ press release.
Each defendant is charged with conspiracy to bring, transport, and harbor illegal aliens in the United States. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, the DOJ added in its press release.
