Operation Twin Shield was a nine‑day, large‑scale immigration‑fraud sweep in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area in September 2025. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) led the operation, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as partner agencies. They reviewed more than 1,000 pending immigration cases flagged for fraud or ineligibility indicators, conducted about 900 site visits and interviews, and reported finding suspected fraud or other concerns in 275 cases.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents derive their power to investigate and go door‑to‑door primarily from federal immigration and customs statutes, plus general Fourth Amendment rules on consensual encounters:
• Statutory authority: As ICE/HSI officers, they are “immigration officers” and “customs officers” with powers under: – 8 U.S.C. § 1357 (INA § 287): authorizes immigration officers to interrogate non‑citizens, make certain warrantless arrests, and execute warrants to enforce immigration laws. – 19 U.S.C. § 1589a: gives customs officers law‑enforcement authority, including to carry firearms, execute warrants, and make warrantless arrests for federal offenses. • Door‑to‑door “knock and talks”: Under the Fourth Amendment, any law‑enforcement officer (including HSI) may approach a residence, knock on the door, and ask questions without a warrant as long as the encounter is consensual and they do not enter or search without consent or a warrant. Courts have generally held that this “knock and talk” technique is lawful when limited to that kind of consensual contact.
Denaturalization is the legal process by which the U.S. government revokes a person’s U.S. citizenship that was obtained through naturalization (it does not apply to people who were U.S. citizens at birth).
Under 8 U.S.C. § 1451, the federal government—usually through the Department of Justice—can seek denaturalization in civil court (or in connection with a criminal conviction) when it proves that citizenship was: • “Illegally procured” (for example, the person did not actually meet the statutory requirements at the time of naturalization), or • “Procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation” (for example, hiding a serious criminal history, past persecution of others, or prior immigration fraud that would have barred naturalization).
Civil denaturalization cases have no statute of limitations; if citizenship is revoked, the person reverts to their prior immigration status and can be placed in removal (deportation) proceedings.
The three programs are distinct Minnesota‑linked programs that use federal and state funds to deliver services:
• Feeding Our Future – Child nutrition sponsor – A now‑defunct Minnesota nonprofit that acted as a sponsoring organization for federal child‑nutrition programs (primarily the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)). – It received federal USDA funds, passed through the Minnesota Department of Education, to reimburse meal sites (schools, daycares, community centers, etc.) for meals served to low‑income children. During COVID‑19 it rapidly expanded to more than 250 sites and took in nearly $200 million in 2021 before federal prosecutors charged dozens of people in an alleged $250 million fraud scheme involving fake meal sites and false claims.
• Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) – A Minnesota Medicaid (Medical Assistance) benefit created under Minn. Stat. § 256B.0949 and approved under the federal EPSDT (Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment) framework. – It funds intensive, medically necessary developmental and behavioral treatment—often similar to applied behavior analysis—for children and young adults (up to age 21) with autism spectrum disorder or related conditions. Services are delivered by enrolled EIDBI agencies and providers, who bill Minnesota’s Medicaid and related programs for individualized treatment plans.
• Evergreen Recovery – An outpatient drug and alcohol treatment provider in Minnesota that billed Medicaid and other payers for “peer recovery” and related addiction‑treatment services. – According to federal indictments and the Minnesota Attorney General, Evergreen Recovery’s leaders were charged with a large Medicaid‑fraud conspiracy in which they billed for services that were not actually provided or were improperly documented, while claiming payment through the state’s Medicaid program.
In these cases, DOJ treats criminal fraud as requiring proof that defendants knowingly and willfully engaged in deception to obtain money, which is different from mere mistakes or eligibility errors.
Key distinctions: • Fraud vs. error: Federal health‑care and benefits fraud statutes (for example, health‑care fraud and False Claims Act–type theories) generally require that the government prove intentional or knowing submission of false claims or material misrepresentations—not just sloppy paperwork or misunderstanding of complex rules. • Evidence of intent: Investigators look for patterns such as billing for services never rendered, falsified records, kickbacks, or coordinated schemes, and how defendants respond when errors are flagged. Persistent or concealed overbilling and fabricated documentation are treated as evidence of fraud; isolated, corrected mistakes are typically handled administratively or through civil remedies. • Program integrity frameworks: DOJ and HHS‑OIG guidance distinguishes between honest mistakes (“errors”), abusive practices, and fraud, with criminal prosecution reserved for conduct showing intent or reckless disregard.
So, in the Minnesota investigations, DOJ’s criminal charges are based on evidence that providers or organizers intentionally submitted false claims or lied to obtain funds, not simply on eligibility disputes or ordinary administrative errors.
The White House article’s statement that 85 of 98 charged defendants are “of Somali descent” appears to summarize demographic information about the people charged across several Minnesota fraud cases, but there is no public, centralized DOJ document that formally aggregates defendants by ethnicity. Instead, reporters have inferred similar patterns by reviewing individual indictments and case filings, many of which identify defendants with Somali names or Somali nationality or heritage.
Legally, a defendant’s ethnicity or national origin does not change how the prosecution proceeds. Criminal cases are brought under federal fraud, money‑laundering, immigration, or related statutes that apply the same elements and penalties regardless of a person’s ancestry. National origin can matter only for collateral immigration consequences—such as potential deportation or denaturalization—if a defendant is not a U.S. citizen or if their citizenship was obtained by fraud, but it does not alter the burden of proof, charges, or courtroom procedures in the fraud prosecutions themselves.
The SBA’s suspension of 6,900 Minnesota borrowers means those individuals (and their associated businesses) are temporarily barred from receiving new SBA loans or other SBA‑backed assistance because the agency believes their pandemic‑era loans are linked to suspected fraud.
• What it means for borrowers – The suspension covers about 7,900 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) loans totaling roughly $400 million that were approved for these borrowers. – Suspended borrowers are placed in an “ineligible” status within SBA programs; they cannot access new SBA credit products, loan guarantees, or certain contracting benefits while the suspension is in effect, though existing loan obligations and collection efforts continue.
• Impact on Minnesota communities – The action freezes access to SBA support for a large group of borrowers in Minnesota, which could affect local businesses and employees if some suspended borrowers are in fact legitimate but under suspicion. – SBA officials say the step is aimed at protecting taxpayers and the integrity of pandemic loan programs by isolating loans with strong fraud indicators while DOJ and inspectors general pursue criminal or civil cases.
• How the “~$400 million” figure was calculated – SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and subsequent news reports state that the suspended 6,900 Minnesota borrowers had been approved for about 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans with a combined principal amount of approximately $400 million; that total comes from aggregating the face value of all those loans, not an adjudicated loss figure.