Right-wing influencers are targeting Somali child care centers, leaving some fearing for safety

Somali-American Child Care Centers Face Harassment Amid Unfounded Fraud Claims

A wave of harassment targeting Somali-run child care centers across the United States has erupted following a viral video alleging widespread fraud, leaving providers fearful and implementing new security measures to protect the children in their care.

In San Diego, child care provider Samsam Khalif encountered two men with a camera waiting outside her home-based center, forcing her to circle the block several times before safely unloading the children. “I’m scared. I don’t know what their intention is,” said Khalif, who has since installed additional security cameras.

The troubling incidents began after right-wing influencer Nick Shirley posted a video the day after Christmas claiming that Minneapolis’s Somali community was running “fake” child care centers to collect federal subsidies fraudulently. Despite these allegations being disproven by official inspectors, the video gained significant traction, even capturing the attention of the White House amid the administration’s broader immigration crackdown.

In Minneapolis, which hosts a substantial Somali immigrant community, providers report experiencing persistent harassment. One child care center operator, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, described watching someone exit a vehicle that had been circling her building to defecate near the entrance. The same day, a passing motorist shouted that hers was a “fake day care.” She has been forced to implement lockdown procedures, allocate budget for security measures, and keep blinds closed to shield children from unwanted visitors.

“I can’t have peace of mind about whether the center will be safe today,” she said. “That’s a hard pill to swallow.”

The harassment has spread beyond Minnesota. In Federal Way, Washington, and Columbus, Ohio—both home to significant Somali populations—right-wing journalists and social media influencers have begun showing up unannounced at child care facilities, filming through windows, and confronting staff with accusations.

In Columbus, after one such incident where a facility was filmed and falsely declared not to be a legitimate child care center, Ohio officials dispatched an inspector who confirmed it was indeed a properly operating child care facility. The center subsequently had its voicemail hacked with a message containing racial slurs and anti-Muslim rhetoric, according to local public radio station WOSU-FM.

Washington state providers have reported calling police after journalists repeatedly appeared outside their homes. In one incident captured on video, journalists from the right-leaning outlet Center Square pressed a woman for proof that she operated a legitimate child care center, asking, “Are you aware of the Somali day care fraud? We’re just trying to check out if this is a real day care. Where are the children?”

Local officials have responded with varying approaches. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson issued a statement condemning attempts to “intimidate, harass or film Somali child care providers.” This prompted Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, to counter that “asking questions/citizen journalism are NOT HATE CRIMES in America.”

In Ohio, Republican Governor Mike DeWine held a news conference specifically to debunk fraud claims about a Columbus child care center and assured the public that the state rigorously monitors facilities receiving public funds. DeWine defended providers’ reluctance to admit strangers, stating, “Well, hell, no! No one should let them in.” Nevertheless, Ohio Republicans subsequently introduced legislation mandating closer monitoring of child care centers, including a proposal requiring those receiving public funding to provide state officials with live video feeds of their classrooms.

The targeting of Somali-run facilities has occurred against a backdrop of inflammatory rhetoric from former President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly disparaged Somali immigrants as “garbage” and “low IQ.” Trump has particularly focused on a previous fraud case where a network that included Somali Americans defrauded Minnesota’s food assistance program of approximately $300 million.

Child care advocates express concern that these unfounded fraud allegations distract from genuine industry challenges, including lengthy waiting lists for subsidy programs and funding threats. Ruth Friedman, who headed the Office of Child Care under President Biden, accused Republicans of manufacturing a crisis for political purposes, saying, “They are using it to try to discredit the movement toward investing in child care.”

The Health and Human Services Department has rejected characterizations that concerns about program integrity are manufactured, urging people to report legitimate fraud suspicions through proper channels rather than taking matters into their own hands.

For providers like Khalif and others across the country, the immediate concern remains creating safe environments for children while navigating a climate of increased scrutiny and hostility based on unsubstantiated claims.