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I want to briefly talk about the massive Somali fraud network in Minnesota. UPDATE adding a more reputable source. Apparently Somalis have committed welfare fraud at least half a billion, maybe more, over the last couple decades. Much of it going home to Somalia to fund terrorist groups.
The surprising thing, looking into it, is that this seems to have been a bit of an open secret? Independent journalists were reporting on it for a while, and nobody seemed to care.
I think this story represents an overall change in the cultural climate, where this sort of information is finally becoming more popular to discuss. I'm reminded of the Rotherham scandal in the U.K. as well. Where there has been a major scandal involving mostly minority/immigrant groups that was covered up or just not really discussed, due to the Problematic nature.
I'm curious if this trend will continue moving forward, and we can perhaps have a more honest conversation about immigration and assimilation? We'll see...
I wasn’t impressed last time people were suddenly interested in minnesota, so my expectations are pretty low. Just flipping through the Post article intermingles a number of claims. It’s relying on the City Journal report, anyway, so let’s go there.
So numbers basically evaporate as we move from fraudulent charities to overall remittances to al-Shabab’s cut. Not surprising. But anything related to terrorism still operates on homeopathic principles: diluting it makes people take it more seriously.
(Man, peeling back the calendar, reveals the year: 2001)
I don’t know why you would expect a “more honest conversation”. You’re going to put off anybody who has the cultural antibodies to deal with this flavor of criticism. You might as well accuse Somalia of hiding WMDs. It’s not going to convince anybody new.
Hmm I mean this is much less an argument for war or anything, more an argument that immigrant groups on the whole likely commit a lot of fraud / have more problems than is immediately apparent?
I agree about the source and updated it.
I’d differentiate between different types of immigrant groups. Minnesota, IIRC, has the nation’s largest Hmong and Karen (not Karens, but the Karen) populations and doesn’t see the same kinds of issues that it has with the Somalian expat community.
The Somalis are far more insular. You have clan loyalties solidified by cousin marriages. And also, Islam. Thinking aloud, the Hmong also have clans, but aren’t insular and have integrated fairly well. It helps many of them love fishing and Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
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Okay, I guess I fumbled that metaphor.
There was a period after 9/11 when mentioning terrorism basically won any number of debates. American politics adapted, and now the risk of a terrorist link is kind of priced in. Very few of the people who weren’t already moved by the outrageous fraud are going to be moved by this addendum.
It might be a different story if Somali Minnesotans directly funded a known terrorist attack, but up until that point, it’s largely academic.
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Would that flavor be "doesn't trust the NY Post" (fair, ish) or "thinks all immigrants are fully above reproach" (the Tim Walz special)?
More “assumes it’s the undead hand of Dick Cheney.”
Though there’s also a subset who would endorse “can’t free Palestine without breaking a few eggs.”
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