Minnesota Government

Sen. Jim Banks urged HHS Assistant Secretary Alex Adams and the Administration for Children and Families to investigate alleged Somali networks creating fake daycare centers that bilk Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program — a largely federally funded program that provides roughly $300 million a year in subsidies — and to refer any unlawful findings to ICE, DHS and federal prosecutors. DHS/HSI and ICE have simultaneously surged to Minnesota conducting on-site inspections, I‑9 audits and subpoenas under an Operation Twin Shield worksite‑enforcement push, even as FBI and federal prosecutors expand broader Medicaid and childcare fraud probes federal officials warn could reach into the billions.