A far-right YouTube personality, Nick Shirley, has sparked outrage by releasing a video claiming to expose fraud at Somali-owned day care centers in Minnesota. The 42-minute video has been viewed millions of times and caught the attention of the Trump administration, which is already targeting the Somali community amid its broader war on immigrants.
Shirley's video builds on the growing interest in a nonprofit fraud scandal in Minnesota involving a pandemic-era program focused on child hunger. However, his claims are largely based on unverified sources, including a single whistleblower who claims to have been attacked by Somali men while confronting them about alleged fraud.
Immigrant rights advocates fear that Shirley's video will exacerbate the harm already being done to Minnesota's immigrant communities at a time when Trump has taken to calling Somali people "garbage" at his rallies. Ana Pottratz Acosta, leader of the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School, said that Shirley's video reinforces xenophobic tropes about the Somali community and ties them to fraud.
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that it would visit 30 sites suspected of fraud across Minneapolis, with agents focusing on a "little of everything," including immigration enforcement. Threatening arrests, the agency posted a video to X in which agents enter a smoke shop and question an employee about a nearby day care center.
Shirley has a long history of using his YouTube channel to target immigrants in the U.S., platforming individuals who spread xenophobic and Islamophobic beliefs and conspiracy theories. His videos often feature sensationalized headlines and portray immigrants as lawbreakers, a societal threat, and a strain on government resources.
Shirley's recent viral video is not an isolated incident. He has previously visited cities and countries that are settings for right-wing, anti-immigrant conspiracies, such as Aurora, Colorado, amid the manufactured crisis around the Tren de Aragua gang.
The Intercept reached out to Shirley, but he did not respond. His mother, Brooke, a right-wing influencer who goes by Brooker Tee Jones on TikTok, occasionally joins him in his videos and has also focused on immigration issues, including accusing Somali residents in Minnesota of healthcare fraud without providing evidence.
Experts warn that the fallout from Shirley's video will only worsen the harm already being done to Minnesota's immigrant communities. "There are bad actors in every community," said Ana Pottratz Acosta. "Just because certain people commit fraud, it doesn't mean that every person who fits that same demographic profile is a bad actor."
Shirley's video builds on the growing interest in a nonprofit fraud scandal in Minnesota involving a pandemic-era program focused on child hunger. However, his claims are largely based on unverified sources, including a single whistleblower who claims to have been attacked by Somali men while confronting them about alleged fraud.
Immigrant rights advocates fear that Shirley's video will exacerbate the harm already being done to Minnesota's immigrant communities at a time when Trump has taken to calling Somali people "garbage" at his rallies. Ana Pottratz Acosta, leader of the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School, said that Shirley's video reinforces xenophobic tropes about the Somali community and ties them to fraud.
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that it would visit 30 sites suspected of fraud across Minneapolis, with agents focusing on a "little of everything," including immigration enforcement. Threatening arrests, the agency posted a video to X in which agents enter a smoke shop and question an employee about a nearby day care center.
Shirley has a long history of using his YouTube channel to target immigrants in the U.S., platforming individuals who spread xenophobic and Islamophobic beliefs and conspiracy theories. His videos often feature sensationalized headlines and portray immigrants as lawbreakers, a societal threat, and a strain on government resources.
Shirley's recent viral video is not an isolated incident. He has previously visited cities and countries that are settings for right-wing, anti-immigrant conspiracies, such as Aurora, Colorado, amid the manufactured crisis around the Tren de Aragua gang.
The Intercept reached out to Shirley, but he did not respond. His mother, Brooke, a right-wing influencer who goes by Brooker Tee Jones on TikTok, occasionally joins him in his videos and has also focused on immigration issues, including accusing Somali residents in Minnesota of healthcare fraud without providing evidence.
Experts warn that the fallout from Shirley's video will only worsen the harm already being done to Minnesota's immigrant communities. "There are bad actors in every community," said Ana Pottratz Acosta. "Just because certain people commit fraud, it doesn't mean that every person who fits that same demographic profile is a bad actor."
. He's always pushing this right-wing propaganda and I'm like, what even is the point of his YouTube vids? Millions of views but not one shred of fact-checking 
. And now he's got Trump's administration all up in arms over Somali day care centers 
. Ana Pottratz Acosta is like, totally right though - this just perpetuates xenophobic tropes and makes it way harder for actual immigrants who are being scammed by bad actors 
. Can't we just have a fact-checking platform instead of sensationalized vids that create fear and division? 
. we need to call out this kind of misinformation and xenophobia before it leads to real harm 
.
his vid is literally based on one whistleblower and unverified sources... how can u trust anything he says? 
and now the trump administration is using this as an excuse to target innocent somali ppl in minnesota 
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he's always spewing this hate speech about immigrants and now he's got the Trump admin on board 
? Ana Pottratz Acosta said it best 
"there are bad actors in every community" but Shirley is just using that as an excuse to bash the whole Somali community 
this is like, super racist and xenophobic behavior 
? And the worst part is, his video has already been viewed millions of times, so now he's basically profiting off someone else's trauma 
.
. We're talking about people's lives, livelihoods, and families here... it's not just about numbers on a spreadsheet 
.
. We need to hold people like Shirley accountable for spreading hate and misinformation, but at the same time, let's not forget that there are real issues at play here 
.
), but can we please have a more nuanced conversation about this? Let's try to understand the complexities of immigration, community building, and social justice 
. And what's even more disturbing is that the Trump admin is taking notice, which means we might see even more aggressive immigration enforcement 
. The Somali community in Minnesota deserves respect and understanding, not scapegoating and fear-mongering 
. Like, why do we need someone like him speaking out against immigrants in the first place? It's just fueling the fire and making things worse 
. We need to stand up against people like Shirley and promote more understanding and acceptance instead 
.
This whole thing just makes me so sad... I think we need to remember that one bad apple doesn't define an entire community 
. We gotta keep in mind that most immigrants come here with nothing but hope and a desire for a better life 
. It's easy to get caught up in fear-mongering and xenophobia, but let's not forget that everyone deserves respect and dignity 
. And it's super important to verify info before sharing it online, 'cause that can be just as damaging as actual wrongdoing 
. We need to hold people like Nick Shirley accountable for spreading misinformation and hurtful rhetoric 
. I can just imagine the kinda stuff he puts out on his YouTube vids - all sensationalized and misleading to make immigrants look bad 
. We need to be more careful about spreading info and not jump on every conspiracy theory that comes our way 
. It's gonna take a lot for me to trust any YouTube vid again 
.
We need more people like Ana Pottratz Acosta who are speaking out against hate speech and promoting understanding and empathy instead of fear and division.
. We need more people like Ana Pottratz Acosta speaking out against these kinds of xenophobic attacks