Category: Immigration

UBI For Me But Not For Thee? When a nation is colonized from the inside out.

Glenn Harlan Reynolds

The explosive unveiling of the wildly extensive Somali-run daycare scams in Minnesota has drawn attention to a huge shadow economy, and not just in Minnesota. America, it turns out, is full of people, companies, and organizations that basically live off of fraud. We’re not talking old-fashioned waste, like $600 hammers or $1200 toilet seats. We’re talking about entities whose sole reason for existence consists of being a conduit for taxpayer money to flow directly to the people controlling them, with some of the proceeds being diverted to politicians and political organizations.

People are noticing.

This reverses an old joke told by my Nigerian relatives. A Nigerian visits his rich relative in the United States and is awed by the penthouse apartment, the limo, the private jet and so forth. “How did you make so much money?” he asks. The relative points out the window. “See that bridge? 15%. See that shopping mall? 15%. See that train station? 15%.”

The visitor, inspired, returns home to Nigeria and becomes fabulously wealthy. His rich cousin from America visits and says “How did you make so much money so fast?”

“You see that bridge over there?”

“Nope,” responds the confused relative. The Nigerian cousin points at himself and says “One hundred percent!”

Well, this joke has now been turned around. Leaving aside that we don’t really even build train stations, bridges, or even shopping malls in this country anymore, now it’s America where people are pocketing one hundred percent and not even trying to actually deliver any goods or services. That the people doing this are mostly Africans only adds to the irony.

But what happened?

Well, several things. At base, people defraud the government for the same reason that dogs lick themselves — because they can. One of the things you find in these programs is that there are virtually no controls to ensure that the recipients of the money are legitimate, that the money is spent as promised — in essence, that the bridges get built. (Or, in the case of California, the high speed rail lines.) That lack of controls, of course, is no accident. The systems are designed to promote fraud and to make it hard to catch or punish.

Second, the culture is weaker. In a high trust society, people get angry when there is fraud and move to punish and ostracize the perpetrators. In a low-trust society, people expect it.

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The Somali Welfare Fraud Scandal Is Even Worse Than You Think

“We believe the Somali fraud operation in Minnesota is the single greatest theft of taxpayer dollars, through welfare fraud, in American history.”

Just my opinion but this was intentional for more than one reason.
1 Political power through election fraud.
2 Graft via kickbacks from purposefully incompetent oversight of funding.

The Somali Fraud Story Busts Liberal Myths
Mass immigration, antiracism, and the welfare state lead inexorably to fraud.

There is a moment when every news story either achieves lift-off or tumbles back to the earth. Having covered a few that drove national headlines, I’ve discovered there is no universal formula for which ones hit the stratosphere, and which do not.

Our recent story detailing Minnesota’s Somali fraud rings has been one of the lucky ones, achieving liftoff in record time. City Journal reporter Ryan Thorpe and I summarized a decade of Somali fraud schemes that stole billions of taxpayer dollars, some of which ended up with Al-Shabaab terrorists back in Somalia. These were sophisticated criminal enterprises that exploited Minnesota’s generous welfare state, deployed accusations of racism to deter scrutiny, and looted the public treasury until local prosecutors did the hard work to bring them down.

The meta-story—how a news item weaves its way through public discourse—is also worth considering. When we published the story, it quickly dominated the conversation on conservative social media. It filtered upward to primetime Fox News, where, on Laura Ingraham’s program, I summarized the piece and called on President Trump to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for all Somalis in Minnesota.

Within hours, the president, who had been following the story, announced that he would revoke TPS for all Somali recipients. Then, over the Thanksgiving holiday, Trump raised the stakes with a blistering social media tirade that ripped into Somali fraudsters, accused Minnesota governor Tim Walz of mental deficiencies, and promised to stop all asylum cases and immigration from the Third World. This sequence of events turned the Minnesota fraud into the debate of the moment.

The next step in the process is for the liberal media to respond. Right on cue, CBS News published a story misrepresenting our report and “debunking” that misrepresentation—a claim that it eventually retracted under pressure. The New York Times did somewhat better, publishing a long feature on the Somali fraud, confirming key details, and opening the floodgates for discourse on the center-left. The spotlight thus turned to Governor Walz, who was at the helm when Somali thieves robbed Minnesota of billions.

On the surface, the Times story was an acknowledgment that this was a real scandal that the liberal press had missed. But the paper did not address the underlying narrative about why the fraud happened. Yes, the story is about a criminal enterprise, but it runs deeper than that. The story has touched a nerve because it busts liberal myths about immigration, anti-racism, and the welfare state.

Minnesota has long prided itself on its generous welfare programs and reputation for good governance. But after the mass arrival of the new Somali population—many of whom brought with them different attitudes toward government and civil society—these programs became a weak point. George Floyd’s 2020 death in Minneapolis demonstrated that scrutiny could be deflected by making baseless accusations of “racism” against anyone who raised questions about the missing funds.

The uncomfortable truth for Times readers is that all cultures are not equal. Therefore, not all cultures are compatible with all political systems. In this case, the Somali criminal enterprise is incompatible with a generous welfare state, particularly in the context of a racial politics that intimidates whistleblowers and other honest brokers.

Though this story was particular to Minnesota, disruptive mass immigration is a national phenomenon. During the four years of the Biden administration, America imported millions of foreigners, many illegally. Some of these have brought, or are trying to bring, negative aspects of their home culture to the United States.

Indeed, cultural incompatibility was a campaign theme during the 2024 election.  Venezuelan gangs took over apartment buildings in Colorado. Haitian migrants overwhelmed deindustrialized towns in the Rust Belt. The Somali fraud story is another point in this plotline.

The Trump administration claims to be on pace to “shatter” records of forced deportations and so-called self-deportations, but more must be done. The administration should put financial restrictions on illegal immigrants, like requiring proof of legal status for maintaining a bank account; and implement massive remittance taxes to reduce the profitability of illegal immigration and fraud. And it must line up the manpower to turbocharge the prosecution of immigrant fraud, in Minnesota and elsewhere.

The New York Times won’t spell it out in block print, but even devoted liberals are starting to ask questions about the welfare state’s combability with mass migration. The shocking scope and scale of the Somali fraud in Minnesota made this a story that could no longer be ignored.

How many Americans could pass the new citizenship exam?

  1. Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution

  2. Why is the Electoral College important?

  3. The Nation’s first motto was “E Pluribus Unum.” What does that mean?

  4. Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?

  5. Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators

Would-be U.S. citizens will face a much harder exam on civics and history, reports Ariana Baio in The Independent.

Until now, applicants had to answer six of 10 questions correctly from a test bank of 100 questions before the exam. For example, they might be asked to name one First Amendment right, know that the Constitution is “the supreme law of the land,” pick November as the month of presidential elections, identify George Washington as the first president or name one Indian tribe.

Now they’ll have to get 12 of 20 questions correct out of a test bank of 128 questions. There are fewer one-word answers.

The old version included: Who did the U.S. fight in World War II?

The new version: Why did the U.S. fight in World War II?

The new exam resembles a more challenging version released late in 2020, just before Trump’s first term ended. The Biden administration scrapped that test, saying it created too high a barrier for citizenship.

I wonder how the average American would do on the new exam. In fact, I’m not sure most Americans could pass the old one.

Possible answers to the questions above:

  1. Equality. Liberty. Social contract. Natural rights. Limited government. Self-government.

  2. It decides who is elected president. It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection

  3. Out of many, one. We all become one

  4. To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait.

  5. To more closely follow public opinion.

Citizenship should require more than memorizing facts and slogans, argues Santiago Vidal Calvo in City Journal. The higher standards should start with “higher expectations — expanding basic civics and English requirements for permanent residency and certain work visas that have a path to citizenship,” he writes.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is also “changing how it evaluates the “good moral character” requirement for green-card applicants, he writes. As in the Canadian and Australian points-based systems, U.S. immigration officers can now “prioritize applicants with in-demand skill sets, advanced education, English proficiency, and a clear commitment to American civic values.”
“We should encourage newcomers to embrace an American identity,” Calvo writes. “This might include a brief course on U.S. history and civic responsibilities as an application requirement for green cards. We might ask naturalization applicants to write a short essay explaining what America means to them.”

He notes that “three-quarters of naturalized U.S. citizens say they are very proud to be American, compared with 69 percent of native-born Americans.”

Tyler Cowen makes a pitch for admitting high-ability immigrants from China, India and Russia. They’re eager to be Americans — and very good in math.

The Trump Administration Announces Major Changes to U.S. Citizenship Test

The government has unveiled substantial changes to the US naturalization civics test, announcing a return to more rigorous standards for prospective citizens.

These updates, effective for applicants filing after mid-October, are intended to ensure a deeper understanding of American history, government, and civic values, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Expanded and More Challenging Content

The revised test, as outlined in the Federal Register notice , seeks to modernize and strengthen the assessment of civics knowledge.

Officials state that the new questions, format, and evaluation criteria are designed to challenge applicants to demonstrate not just rotate memorization, but a deeper conceptual understanding of core American values, historical turning points, and the structure of government authorities.

The revised test increases the pool of possible questions from 100 to 128, reintroducing updates first implemented in 2020 and rolled back during the previous administration. Applicants now face 20 questions, of which they must answer at least 12 correctly, compared to answering 6 out of 10 in the previous version.

The test remains an oral exam, with a wide range of topics including the Constitution, significant wars, influential figures such as Thomas Jefferson, and examples of American innovation.

Notably, the passing score is unchanged, but administrators can stop the exam after 12 correct or 9 incorrect answers, streamlining the process while maintaining rigor. Most applicants will take the exam in English, although some exceptions exist for older, long-term residents.

New Vetting and Character Assessment Standards

Alongside changes to the test content, the administration is implementing stricter criteria for evaluating applicants’ moral character and societal contributions. Guidance to USCIS officers now instructs them to consider a broader range of behaviors and revives neighborhood investigations to help verify eligibility.

Additionally, the agency has clarified that any involvement in illegal voting, illegal registration, or false citizenship claims will disqualify applicants from meeting good moral character requirements.

Rationale and Broader Context

USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser stated that “ American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values ​​and principles as a nation,” and that the changes are designed “to ensure only those aliens who meet all eligibility requirements, including the ability to read, write, and speak English and understand US government and civics, are able to naturalize.”

He framed the move as promoting full assimilation and strengthening the integrity of American citizenship, calling these “critical changes… the first of many” planned under the current administration.

This announcement has sparked renewed debate in political and civic circles over the balance between making the citizenship process demanding and ensuring it remains fair and accessible.

@WallStreetApe

Woman who grew up in Southern California says she saw first hand out illegals qualify for Section 8 and all our benefits

“I saw exactly how they did it and what they did and how they were able to get away with it for so long. So how they would do it is when you fill out these applications, there is a box that asks you, now they’ll initially ask you for your social security number and date of birth, whatever. But there’s a box that said check here if you do not have a social security number. Once you check that box, baby, you’re a celebrity after that.

— The border is right there. So the women and children would come over. And they’ll apply to all this aid. They’ll check that box. Do not have a Social Security number. And then they will get immediate assistance.

– They’ll get the Section 8
– They’ll get cash assistance
– They’ll get EBT
– They’ll get free lunch for the kids
– They’ll get ESL (English second language)
– They’ll get free tutoring

they’ll get everything they need, right? Because they’re not a citizen, so they need the emergency help

but here’s what they would do.

The men would be there too. They just wouldn’t include them on any paperwork. The men would be in the home, but the men would go to work. All while they woman and children are getting all this free everything, they would go to work.

They would do construction, get paid under the table, odd jobs, handyman work, paid under the table, fixed cars, paid under the table, have a food stand or food truck, cash only, okay? Selling whatever they can sell, reselling, doing whatever they can, all under the table. And the women would do it, too. So they getting all this money, cash only, tax free, no proof of anything, and living high off the hog off of our money that we’re actually paying off the government, off the handouts. That they say we take.

That’s how they were doing it.“

“That’s how they’ve been. Getting away with it. The men, they be out there making money and even the women, they be out there making money, cash only, tax free with the handouts of the government.”

She then explains what illegal businesses they run in California and how they avoid taxable income and reporting

Oh, That’s Why Democrats Don’t Want a New Census

On Thursday President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Commerce Department to conduct a new population count without illegal aliens.

“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this

The directive sent Democrats into a meltdown and thanks to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, we know why.

Without illegal aliens counted in the U.S. Census, which determines congressional representation in Washington D.C., Democrats would be in the minority.

“They stole 20 or 30 House seats by counting illegal aliens in the census, and now you have Democrats talking about, ‘Oh, Republicans can’t change their congressional maps!’ You have literally brought invaders into this country by the tens of millions to RIG the results of the census, and the apportionment of congressional seats!” Miller says. “And then on top of that, of course, you have a situation where even though Republicans won a landslide in the House popular vote, Democrats have so thoroughly rigged and gerrymandered and manipulated their districts beyond all recognition that Republicans only gained a 4-seat majority, despite winning a much smaller majority in the popular vote in 2010 and getting 63 seats.”

Not only did the 2020 census count illegal aliens (like previous counts) – but it was wildly inaccurate – conveniently benefiting Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In a shocking report that has not received the attention it deserves, the U.S. Census Bureau recently admitted that its 2020 Census count of the American population was incorrect in at least 14 states.

And those mistakes were costly to certain states in terms of congressional representation, number of electors, and money those states are likely to receive from the federal government during the next decade. To put the scope of these mistakes into perspective, contrast the errors in the Census Bureau’s latest recount (the 2020 Post-Enumeration Survey, or PES) with the recount from a decade ago (the 2010 Post-Enumeration Survey)—in which there was a net overcount of a mere 0.01 percent (36,000 people), a statistically insignificant error.

As explained below, as a result of these errors, Florida did not receive two additional congressional seats and Texas did not receive one more congressional seat. Meanwhile, two other states, Minnesota and Rhode Island, each retained a congressional seat that they should have lost, and Colorado gained a new seat to which it was rightfully not entitled.

 Hundreds of accused murderers, thieves and sex offenders, including illegal migrants, nabbed in sweeping federal operation.

They brought the hammer down on the worst of the worst.

Federal authorities have swept up 264 wanted criminals — including two illegal migrants wanted for sex crimes — in New Jersey in an ongoing mission dubbed “Operation Apex Hammer” that nabbed suspects wanted for murder, robbery and sexual offenses, including those against children.

Those arrested include 17 homicide suspects, 95 gang members, including several others wanted for serious violent and sexual offenses, federal officials said.

U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos Jr. and Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba called the collaboration among federal, state, and local law enforcement “a major success in combating violent crime and restoring public safety.”

“We are doing multiple cases at once to make sure that we clean up as quickly as possible,” Habba told Fox News of the operation in June. “Violent crime is number one. It is very clear from this administration. That is all we’re focused on.”

At least two of the suspects were illegal immigrants, police sources said.

The suspects had 2,625 prior arrests among them, or about 10 each, officials said.

Illegal Guatemalan immigrant Lorenzo Benitez, 54, was arrested on June 4 in Plainfield, NJ, and faces multiple counts of sexual assault in Keansburg, NJ, law enforcement officials said.

Darlin Franco-Guzman, 25, an illegal immigrant from Honduras, was wanted in Baltimore County, Md., for burglary and attempted sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl, and was arrested on June 10 in Trenton, the officials said.

The other fugitives’ crimes ranged from kidnapping and sex assault to a drive-by shooting murder.

Stephen Bullock, 32, was arrested on June 13 on charges that he allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 76-year-old woman in Camden County. Shawn Davis, 38, was arrested in Brooklyn for a 2024 homicide in Trenton, according to officials.

Luis Duval-Jimenez, 31, was being sought for allegedly running over a police officer in South Brunswick in May. Trasuf Bennett, 20, and an unidentified juvenile accomplice were arrested on June 19 for the drive-by shooting murder of a 20-year-old man in Milleville, N.J., officials said.

The fugitives had 2,625 prior arrests among them collectively, officials said.

Francisco Ruiz, 67, was wanted for sexual assault by contact, terroristic threats, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal restraint, officials said. He was arrested on June 20 in Bayonne.

Officers also seized 14 illegal firearms during the operation.

Supreme Court Allows DHS to Suspend Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans.

The latest SCOTUS order shows the justices are taking a more nuanced approach to district court injunctions of Trump Administration policies than its critics, left or right.

Today, over a lone noted dissent, the Supreme Court stayed a district court injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from terminating Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans in the United States. The unsigned order in Noem v. National TPS Alliance noted that Justice Jackson would not have granted the stay.

The order was not an unqualified victory for the Trump Administration, as it does not extent–and expressly does not prejudice–challenges to the Administration’s withdrawal of other benefits or status designations for TPS beneficiaries. Those questions will be litigated separately.

The Court’s action was likely driven by the justices’ conclusion that the federal government is likely to prevail on the merits, as the decision whether to confer, maintain, or terminate TPS is largely discretionary. Indeed, it is not even clear TPS decisions are subject to judicial review (as the Administration argued in its stay application).

The Court’s order also highlights that, even within the constraints of the emergency docket, the justices are considering each application for relief on its own terms, and will police district court overreach where such overreach is clear. So while a majority of justices will not allow the Trump Administration to summarily deport individuals under the Alien Enemies Act without providing for adequate process, it is will also prevent individual district court judges from enjoining policy decisions that are clearly within the discretion of the administration.

This approach may not satisfy partisans, or those who presume the Trump Administration is entitled to prevail (or should be stymied) on every question (often without acknowledging, let alone understanding, the legal questions at hand), but it suggests the justices are endeavoring to pay attention to what the law actually allows or requires.

South African Government Releases Terrifyingly Chilling Statement on Fleeing White Afrikaners

The case of around 50 white Afrikaner refugees from South Africa has turned the political discourse upside down. After years of never finding a migrant they didn’t approve of, Democrats and their press allies are suddenly greatly offended that President Donald Trump would dare grant asylum to a statistically insignificant number of people.

On CNN, former Obama campaign official and current analyst Ashley Allison went on a racist rant, proclaiming they should go back to “Germany” if they don’t like the “law of the land” of being persecuted financially and physically. Notably, Afrikaners, who migrated to South Africa some 400 years ago, aren’t from Germany, nor would Allison ever suggest that about any other racial group in any other country.

But while the left was busy taking the bait and going out on a limb by claiming that granting refugee status wasn’t justified, South Africa’s government came right out and said the quiet part out loud.

Here’s the key line.

What the instigators of this falsehood seek is not safety, but impunity from transformation. They flee not from persecution, but from justice, equality, and accountability for historic privilege.

Reading that sent a chill down my spine. These are people whose ancestors have been in South Africa for nearly half a millennium. They are as much South Africans as black Americans are Americans, which is to say, fully. To claim they are fleeing “transformation” while citing “justice” and “accountability for historic privilege” is terrifyingly Orwellian. Everyone knows exactly what that means, which is the continued ethnic cleansing that has been endorsed by South Africa’s ruling party.

At this point, the United States should not even consider reopening diplomatic ties with South Africa (the ambassador to the U.S. was expelled in March). The Trump administration should likewise pressure Europe into speaking out or face consequences. They have sat idly by, ignoring the forcible seizure of land and extra-judicial killings committed under the guise of punishing “historic privilege” simply because it’s been coming from an African government.

If this were Russia, they’d all be denouncing it, and everyone knows it. The color of someone’s skin should not dictate whether they are treated fairly as refugees, and assuming that just because someone is white, they couldn’t possibly be facing persecution is grotesque.

Make no mistake. This is what “equity” initiatives inevitably lead to, whether they are carried out in South Africa or Western nations. It’s never enough for everyone to ensure everyone has equal rights. Eventually, you end up with the seizure of money and property to pay for “reparations” and worse, punishing people for things their ancestors did hundreds of years in the past. The next time someone questions the dangers of DEI and why the right has fought so hard against it, just point to South Africa and what’s happening to the Afrikaners.

After bringing millions of unvetted migrants into the U.S., the hate-filled left screams about a few dozen white South African refugees

What’s with the left? After ushering in tens of millions of unvetted illegal migrants and defending their ‘right’ to stay with extraordinary tenacity, President Trump lets in about 50 South Africans Boers this week, victims of extreme violence, discrimination, and Hugo Chavez-style land expropriation, and already they’re having a cow.

The far-leftist South African government is hurling abuse at the refugees as they go, and unwittingly making the case that Trump was right all along to grant them that refugee status — nobody acts like they do without a guilty conscience:

If I were a South African and saw that kind of response, I’d get out as soon as I can, because they are likely to stop Boers from getting out at some point. Anything but give them equality and justice, which is the reason the people are leaving.

The New York Times was particularly appalling in its coverage:

The first plane carrying white South Africans who received refugee status from the Trump administration landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday morning, according to a flight tracking website.

The arrival marks a drastic reversal in the United States’ refugee policies, which have long focused on helping people fleeing war, famine and genocide. President Trump essentially halted all refugee admissions programs on his first day in office before creating a pathway for Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that ruled during apartheid in South Africa, to resettle in the United States.

The group that arrived Monday on a U.S.-funded Omni Air International charter flight say they have been discriminated against, denied job opportunities and have been subject to violence because of their race. Forty-nine Afrikaners boarded the flight on Sunday, according to a spokesman for South Africa’s airport authority, after more than 8,000 people expressed interest in the program. There are scant details available about the individuals who arrived in the United States.

The South Africans who reached the United States on Monday had received expedited processing by the Trump administration — waiting no more than three months.

What ‘reversal’? Getting macheted, necklaced, and robbed of all one’s possessions solely because of one’s race comes pretty close to genocide, and in any case, fits U.S. refugee criteria.

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