Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar and President Trump had multiple tense exchanges during Tuesday night's State of the Union, as the Democratic lawmaker accused him of lying about fraud in the state and "killing Americans" with his immigration policies.
The president blasted blue states and insisted many are rampant with fraud and corruption. He said "members of the Somali community have pillaged" what belongs to U.S. taxpayers in Minnesota and announced that Vice President JD Vance will lead a "war on fraud."
"The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception," Mr. Trump said. "Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA."
"That's a lie! You're a liar," Omar shouted at the president as he discussed fraud in the Democratic lawmaker's state.
Mr. Trump's "estimated $19 billion" in fraud figure refers to the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported over a dozen state-run programs in Minnesota since 2018. The exact extent of the fraud and losses is still being investigated. In December 2025, a top prosecutor suggested the total amount of fraud could be $9 billion or more.
More than 90% of the people charged in major fraud cases announced before December 2025 were of Somali descent, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota. But the number of people of Somali descent charged, 82 individuals, is a small fraction of the Somali community across the state. Prosecutors have said the mastermind behind Feeding Our Future, Minnesota's biggest fraud scheme to date, is Aimee Bock, a White woman.
As Mr. Trump discussed his ongoing push to remove undocumented immigrants, his pronouncements sparked more fury among a handful of the most liberal Democratic lawmakers.
Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan shouted "You're killing Americans!" as congressional Republicans bellowed in support of the president's immigration policies.
As the Republican applause continued, the president stared in their direction, with a disgusted look on his face. Most other Democrats sat stone-faced but some appeared upset or annoyed.
Rep. Omar's guest Aliya Rahman, who was pulled from her car by ICE agents during the tumultuous Operation Metro Surge rollout, told Democracy Now that she was removed from the chambers during the address and arrested.
"There are only two things you can do at the State of the Union, and they are sit down and stand up," Rahman said. "I was arrested for standing up."
When Mr. Trump mentioned ongoing removal operations, Democratic Rep. Norma Torres of California held up a double-sided placard with the photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti with the words, "Premediated Murder" underneath their face and names. Mr. Trump made no mention of the deaths of Good and Pretti during his address, or Operation Metro Surge.
The president asked members of Congress to stand if they agreed with his statement that the first duty of the U.S. government is to protect American citizens, not those in the country illegally. Republicans stood and applauded, while Democrats generally did not.
"You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up," Mr. Trump said.
As he continued to speak, some Democrats in the audience interjected, and the president continued to speak over them. Omar and Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington were among those who spoke out.