Noem says she's "focused on policing the streets, not policing President Trump's words"

Amid an ongoing fraud scandal in Minnesota and a nationwide immigration crackdown, President Trump has recently taken aim at Somali immigrants, describing them in disparaging terms and saying they're "ripping off our country." Asked about Mr. Trump's comments and whether legal Somali immigrants should be worried, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS News in an exclusive interview, "I'm focused on policing the streets, not policing President Trump's words."

Noem has deployed 2,000 agents to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to conduct immigration raids and assist in the widening fraud investigation.

Asked how she justified the expense to the taxpayers of sending that many agents in, Noem said, "The American taxpayer is grateful that that resource allocation has been put here. We've never seen this kind of fraudulence and abuse of programs before in recent history."

Over the past three years, prosecutors in the area have charged more than 90 people with fraud, 78 of whom were arrested in connection with a fraud scheme involving a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future, which was supposed to help feed vulnerable children during the COVID-19 pandemic. A majority of those charged in that scheme are Somali Americans, although the program's leader, Aimee Bock, who was convicted earlier this year, is not. 

The ongoing fraud scandal prompted Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to drop his reelection bid this week.

Last month, a viral video from conservative YouTuber Nick Shirley alleged nearly a dozen day care centers in Minnesota were receiving public funds are not actually providing any service, prompting calls for further investigations. Nine of those child care centers were "operating as expected" when state investigators conducted on-site checks last week, officials said on Friday. One of the centers had been closed since 2022. A CBS News review of those centers found dozens of citations related to safety, cleanliness, equipment and staff training, among other violations, but there was no recorded evidence of fraud.

But Mr. Trump has continued to lash out at the Somali community, and has called Minnesota a "hub of fraudulent money laundering activity." The president's words, and the show of force behind them, have shaken the Somali community.

Youth counselor Mohamed Jama told CBS News he was recently interrogated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

"The line has been blurred. You could be a citizen and still get detained," Jama, who is an American citizen, said.

The vast majority of Somali Americans in Minnesota are U.S. citizens, and Noem said agents are not targeting any one community. 

Asked what Noem's message to Jama would be, she told CBS News, "Every individual that we have focused on the last year, as far as the Department of Homeland Security, has been someone who has broken our laws."

She insisted people like Jama have nothing to worry about.

"Law-abiding citizens of this country should be grateful that we are here today and that we're making their streets safer," Noem said.

Jonah Kaplan contributed to this report.