Washington: US President Donald Trump said this week he was appointing his Vice President JD Vance to lead a “war on fraud" as he railed against alleged abuses of government benefits in Democratic-controlled states, AFP news agency reported.
“I am officially announcing the war on fraud, to be led by our great Vice President JD Vance," Trump said, claiming that if his administration could “find enough of that fraud, we will have a balanced budget overnight."
The Trump administration has alleged that public benefits fraud is widespread in Minnesota’s Somali community as a whole. The state hosts the largest Somali immigrant community in the country, with around 80,000 people.
A day after Trump tapped Vance to lead a “war on fraud", the VP announced a freeze on funding for medical benefits for the state of Minnesota. The federal government would reportedly freeze US$259 million in payments to Minnesota.
New Jersey Governor sued over order restricting ICE enforcement
The Justice Department has sued the state of New Jersey and its Governor, Mikie Sherrill, challenging an executive order she issued limiting enforcement actions by the federal immigration agents in the state.
The executive order, signed on February 11, has barred federal immigration officers from conducting civil immigration arrests in areas of state-owned property that are not open to the public unless the officers have a judicial warrant. It also prohibits federal officers from using state property as a staging area for immigration raids.
According to The New York Times, the suit was the latest filed by the Trump administration against Democrat-led states with laws and policies it argues are hindering its mass deportation campaign.
