Rep. Brandon Gill leaves the House Republican Conference caucus meeting in the Capitol in Washington, May 6, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
"Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households?" Gill asked.
Ballou began to respond but was cut off by more questions from Gill.
"Well, to be clear, a majority of —" Ballou began.
"It's 7%," Gill interjected. "There's a big difference between 54% and 7%, no?"
"You're using the phrase ‘native Minnesotans’ — the majority of Somali Minnesotans are as Minnesotan as any of us. They were born in the United States," Ballou fired back, noting that there could be some overlap between Gill's numbers.
Gill pushed on.
"What percentage of Somali-headed households are on welfare in general? It's 81%," Gill said. "After ten years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali immigrant households continue to be on welfare? The number is 78%."
Gill’s statements come as Republicans more closely evaluated the fraud levels discovered in Minnesota in recent months. Investigators at the local and federal levels have uncovered myriad fraud schemes posing as daycare centers, food programs, health clinics and more accused of robbing the state of up to $9 billion. In these cases, the investigators say fraudsters either inflated the numbers of the people they allegedly helped or fabricated their services altogether — all while receiving government dollars.
While Republicans have stressed a need to tackle fraud writ large, the Somali community has come under special scrutiny.
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Rep. Robert Garcia during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Nov. 18, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the GOP whip, has called for the Trump administration to deport Somalis convicted in relation to the Minnesota fraud ring.
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Gill’s comments on the Oversight Committee also come as Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, introduced legislation on Tuesday that would require U.S. refugees from Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Somalia to self-deport after 180 days.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/minnesota-fraud-hearing-sparks-immigration-clash-gop-lawmaker-spotlights-somali-welfare-data