Trump Administration to Audit Somali Citizens for Denaturalization

On December 31, 2025, a day after the Department of Health and Human Services shut down federal funding for childcare services in the face of alleged daycare fraud, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained on Fox News that “[Trump is] not afraid to use denaturalization… That’s a tool this administration has previously used before.” With the Trump administration’s major response to alleged misconduct, it’s important to understand why the  Somali-run industry is facing backlash and the fallout to be expected.

Twenty-three-year-old self-described “independent journalist” Nick Shirley, on December 26, posted a video claiming to have investigated Somali-run daycare centers. In the video, he is shown approaching various childcare centers, where he then asks if there are children inside, and after requests to see them. Repeatedly, he is turned down, with the childcare workers refusing his entry and requesting that he leave the property. Several of his encounters escalate.

Shirley’s video has been met with backlash from many on the internet. Skeptics cite several issues with the video; for instance, many commentators have argued that allowing unauthorized people on a property made to serve children produces an unnecessary risk, especially when Shirley was seen approaching with hostility. 

The December 26 video was only the start for political discourse regarding the Somali daycares, since things have only escalated. Individuals on both sides of the dispute escalated attacks. Conservatives siding with Shirley dug up historic funding records, finding that one of the daycares displayed in the video was set to receive “$1.9 million from the Child Care Assistance Program,” says CNN. On the other hand, the opposition led by state Democrats set out to investigate the situation themselves. They came to the conclusion that “Children were present at all sites except for one – that site was not yet open for families for the day when inspectors arrived.”

The immediate response to the daycare controversy was anger. All across Minnesota people took up in anger and started harassing the operators of daycares all across the state. Per police reports, several conflicts became so major that police needed to be constantly posted near the daycare centers to maintain the safety of children caught in the conflict’s crossfire.

The second response was political and major. The Department for Health and Human Services took broad action to freeze all childcare payments in all states. The action sparked more controversy, creating a major schism between the United States’ left and right. Eventually, the news made its way all the way up to President Trump, who now desires to implement broad deportation efforts of even naturalized citizens, offering denaturalization as a possible political strategy. Whether or not he has the presidential power to do as such is contested. 

Read more here:

• Joey Garrison, USA Today

• Ken Bensinger and Ernesto Londoño, The New York Times

• Nick Shirley, Youtube

• Andy Rose, CNN

• Phil Helsel and Julia Ainsley, NBC

• WSYX Staff, ABC 6

• ABC Staff, ABC

• Max Matza and James FitzGerald, BBC News