HHS probes whether billions in taxpayer money ‘used to fuel illegal and mass migration’
In Washington, officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has begun probing whether the billions of taxpayer funds that flowed to Minnesota’s social‑services network were being diverted to “fuel illegal and mass migration,” according to letters the Post uncovered.
Alex Adams, who leads HHS’s Administration for Children and Families, sent notices on Monday to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and a nonprofit that received sizable federal grants to run Head‑Start programs.
He explained that the inquiry’s purpose is to ensure “accountability for American taxpayers” and that the agency is still in the exploratory phase. Adams also noted that his office has “legitimate reason to think that they’ve been using taxpayer dollars incorrectly,” citing recent reports of fraud in Minnesota.
Minnesota collected over $690 million for safety‑net programs during the final fiscal year under President Biden, when HHS was headed by Secretary Xavier Becerra. Now, HHS is demanding a comprehensive list of state recipients of funds from fiscal years 2019 through 2025, with a deadline of December 26.
Between 2022 and 2025 alone, the department disbursed more than $4.5 billion, and a review of federal spending records shows that more than 1,000 grants totaling $8.6 billion were awarded to Minnesota entities. The state houses roughly 130,000 undocumented immigrants—about 2 % of its population—according to Pew.
Adams’ letters highlighted “public statements from hundreds of Minnesota Department of Human Services employees alleging that clear warnings of fraud were repeatedly disregarded, that whistleblowers faced retaliation, and that widespread misuse of federal funds may have persisted for years under your leadership.”
These allegations are part of ongoing Treasury and House Oversight investigations, which accuse Governor Walz of allowing a large fraud scheme that targeted Somali immigrants and siphoned over $1 billion from taxpayers.
“These concerns have been heightened by recent federal prosecutions and additional allegations that substantial portions of federal resources were fraudulently diverted away from the American families they were intended to assist,” Adams added.
The programs under review include Parent‑in‑Community‑Action grants, the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), Title IV‑E Foster Care, Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA), Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA), the Low‑Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).
For many of these, HHS is requesting data from 2019 to 2025; for CCDF and Parent‑in‑Community‑Action, the requested period is 2022 to 2025. Adams asked for details such as recipient name, address, Social Security number (if collected), date of birth, A‑number (if applicable), and any state identification numbers used for program administration.
He emphasized that “This information is necessary for ACF to conduct a thorough review of program operations and to assess the extent of any irregularities that may have occurred.” Representatives for Gov. Walz’s office and Mayor Frey’s office have not yet responded to requests for comment.
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