Stephen Miller Sounds Alarm Over Share of Somalis Using Welfare in Minnesota
A massive Somali-run welfare fraud scam has drawn nationwide scrutiny toward the ways in which immigrants from the African Muslim nation abuse public benefits in Minnesota.
The community of 80,000 Somalis, largely concentrated in Minneapolis and St. Paul, is infamous for defrauding state programs at disproportionate levels, but even their high overall reliance on welfare is calling their behavior — and their very presence in America — into question.
A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies revealed that 81 percent of Somali immigrant households are using welfare of some kind.
That includes 54 percent of households on food stamps and 73 percent on Medicaid.
The rates for Somali immigrant households that have been in the United States for 10 years or more — in other words, households that have had time to secure employment and build some degree of wealth — do not fare much better.
While 78 percent are on welfare of any kind, 48 percent are on food stamps and 68 percent are on Medicaid.
By way of comparison, 21 percent of native households are on any type of welfare, while 7 percent are on food stamps and 18 percent are on Medicaid.
Somali immigrant households with children are even more likely to be using welfare — the rate of “any welfare” use increases to 89 percent for such households.