Republican senators introduce bill to address childcare, immigration fraud

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

U.S. senators, led by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, have introduced a bill to amend federal law to address federally funded childcare provider fraud. The bill, if signed into law, would also address concerns raised about childcare centers being funded by groups associated with or that fund terrorism.

The Stop Fraud by Strengthening Oversight and More Accountability for Lying and Illegal Activity (Stop Fraud by SOMALIA) Act, which has several Republican cosponsors, would amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 “to debar childcare providers who commit fraud from receiving certain financial assistance.”

It was filed after extensive fraud has been uncovered in Minnesota perpetrated primarily by Somali immigrants, including those illegally in the country. At least 98 people have been charged, including 85 Somalians, for their role in a fraud scheme targeting 14 high-risk Medicaid-funded services through Minnesota Department of Human Services programs, The Center Square reported. Sixty have already been found guilty, with some pleading guilty last month.

Most of the fraud involved Medicaid funds being spent on affordable housing and other programs that don’t have to do with childcare facilities, with investigations going back years.

Last year, Cornyn and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, both Texas Republicans, filed a bill to make defrauding the federal government a deportable offense. The Deporting Fraudsters Act, filed with cosponsors, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify that “aliens who have been convicted of defrauding the United States Government or unlawfully receiving public benefits are inadmissible and deportable,” The Center Square reported.

Cornyn’s SOMALIA Act also would amend the INA to make it a crime for childcare providers to receive funds from organizations that support terrorism and terrorist organizations, including Al-Shabaab and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. It also would make convicted childcare providers who are in the country illegally or in the country on another immigration status inadmissible, deportable and permanently barred from asylum eligibility. It would require mandatory federal criminal referrals, mandatory detention and expedited removal.

“The Minnesota scandal has exposed a deep-rooted, morally bankrupt fraud empire, and it is clear more must be done to rid our nation of these heinous criminals,” Cornyn said in a statement. “I applaud President Trump for his efforts to end this corruption, and I’m proud to take it a step further with the Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act, which would ensure these consequences are enshrined into law before any more funds are misused or sent overseas to fund American-hating terrorist networks like we saw in now-disgraced Governor Walz’s state.”

The bill also requires mandatory permanent debarment from all federally funded childcare assistance programs, repayment of fraudulently obtained funds and would require states to enforce the federal ban.

Currently, the INA doesn’t include welfare fraud in a list of crimes that make foreign nationals inadmissible or deportable.

It’s not just Medicaid fraud that’s been reported but SNAP fraud as well, more recently perpetrated by Haitians and Yemenis, The Center Square reported.

“Illegal aliens who falsify documents, steal identities, and cheat the system to gain public benefits meant for American citizens, including SNAP or Medicaid, should unquestionably be deported,” Cornyn said. “By ensuring any illegal alien who defrauds the U.S. government can be removed from our country, this commonsense legislation would end the America-last policies of Joe Biden and rightfully put Americans first.”

In February, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to stop funding public benefits for illegal foreign nationals, The Center Square reported. The order cites federal law, including the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, that “generally prohibits illegal aliens from obtaining most taxpayer-funded benefits.”

Texas has sought to end public benefits for those in the country illegally. In 2021, Texas and 13 states sued to ensure that a federal public charge rule remained in effect, which requires foreign nationals to prove they can financially support themselves prior to being admitted to the U.S., The Center Square reported.