Tim Walz watched fraudsters steal $9 billion from Minnesota taxpayers – and Democrats just voted to keep it legal.
Wednesday, House Republicans passed the Deporting Fraudsters Act – and 186 Democrats voted no.
Now Chuck Schumer is promising to kill it in the Senate, and every single American needs to know what that means.
The Bill That Closes a 70-Year Loophole Democrats Never Touched
The bill is straightforward.
Rep. Dave Taylor of Ohio introduced H.R. 1958 to close a gaping loophole in the Immigration and Nationality Act – one that has never, in its entire history, listed welfare fraud as a deportable offense.
Steal food stamp money. Steal Medicaid. Steal Social Security.
Under current law, none of that is automatic grounds for removal.
Taylor's bill fixes that.
Any noncitizen convicted of – or admitting to – defrauding federal benefit programs like SNAP, Medicaid, or Social Security gets deported and permanently barred from re-entry.
No relief. No second chances. Out.
The vote was 231-186. Every yes came from a Republican.
Every no came from a Democrat.
https://twitter.com/OwenGregorian/status/2034612951592669187?s=20
Rep. Tom McClintock of California said it plainly on the House floor: "If you admit to or you're convicted of fraudulently receiving public benefits, you are out of here on the next plane and can never return."
Democrats responded by calling the bill "draconian."
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland called it "redundant and completely unnecessary."
He argued that deporting someone before a criminal conviction violates due process – conveniently ignoring that the bill contains no language preventing prosecutors from charging fraudsters before removal.
Democrats protecting noncitizens who steal from taxpayers is not a new look. It is the look.
The $9 Billion Reason This Bill Exists
The Minnesota fraud scandal is why this vote happened – and the numbers are staggering.
Federal prosecutors estimate that more than half of approximately $18 billion spent since 2018 across 14 Minnesota social service programs may have been fraudulent.
The U.S. Attorney called it "staggering."
https://twitter.com/foxnewspolitics/status/2034610157641175087?s=20
The Feeding Our Future nonprofit alone – which falsely claimed to feed tens of thousands of nonexistent hungry children – accounts for approximately $250 million in theft, the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme ever charged in American history.
Nearly 100 individuals have been charged. More than 60 have already been convicted.
The program was so easy to steal from it attracted what federal prosecutors called "fraud tourism."
Two men from Philadelphia heard Minnesota was "easy money" – traveled there, enrolled shell companies, drove back to Philly, and filed fraudulent Medicaid claims from their couch.
They netted $3.5 million.
Tim Walz's administration knew. Whistleblowers warned them.
They did nothing – reportedly to avoid accusations of racism.
The governor who let billions walk out the door is the same man Democrats nominated for vice president of the United States.
Schumer Is Personally Keeping This Loophole Open
The Deporting Fraudsters Act now heads to the Senate, where Chuck Schumer has declared it "dead on arrival."
Think about what that means for a second.
The Immigration and Nationality Act has been on the books for more than 70 years.
In all that time, nobody ever wrote welfare fraud into it as a deportable offense. Not once.
https://twitter.com/GlockfordFiles/status/2034603705350193531?s=20
Two men drove from Philadelphia to Minnesota, stole $3.5 million from Medicaid, drove home, and under current law that theft is not automatic grounds for removal.
That loophole is not an accident.
Democrats have had decades to close it.
They chose not to.
Now Republicans finally close it – and Chuck Schumer is promising to kill the fix on behalf of his caucus.
That is not a procedural disagreement. That is a choice.
Schumer is personally guaranteeing that noncitizens who steal food stamp money, steal Medicaid, steal Social Security can keep fighting deportation in immigration court – with taxpayer-funded legal protections – while the people they robbed get nothing.
He is doing this on purpose, in public, and daring you to be angry about it.
Be angry about it.
The 186 Democrats who voted no yesterday told you exactly where they stand. They stand with the fraudsters.
Sources:
- Adam Pack and Elizabeth Elkind, "Almost 200 House Dems Vote Against Deporting People Who Commit Welfare Fraud," Fox News, March 18, 2026.
- Brooke Mallory, "House Passes Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026," One America News Network, March 18, 2026.
- Ted Cruz Press Release, "Sen. Cruz, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Ensure Deportation of Illegal Aliens Who Commit Benefit Fraud," Cruz.senate.gov, 2025.
- "Somali Welfare Fraud in Minnesota Has Cost American Taxpayers Billions," Heritage Foundation, 2025.
- "Yes, 'There's Something Wrong with Walz' — and It Cost Taxpayers $1 Billion," WhiteHouse.gov, December 2025.
- Joe Thompson, U.S. Attorney's Office press conference, Minneapolis, December 18, 2025.