Are 50% of Minnesota visas and programs fraudulent? Investigating Kristi Noem’s claim

• A claim circulated online in December 2025 that 50% of visas in Minnesota were fraudulent. It came from U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who said at a Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting, “You told me to look into Minnesota and their fraud on visas and their programs. Fifty percent of them are fraudulent.”
• Neither Noem nor the DHS established exactly which of the many lawful ways to enter the U.S. the secretary included in the “visas” and “programs” that allegedly had a 50% fraud rate. 
• A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services investigation in Minneapolis-St. Paul in September 2025 reportedly found “evidence of fraud, non-compliance, or public safety or national security concerns” in 275 out of more than 1,000 cases it looked into, meaning no more than 27.5%. That data did not support Noem’s claim.
• USCIS, which oversees immigration in the U.S. and whose Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate investigates immigration-related fraud, referred Snopes’ query to the DHS. Noem’s and the DHS’ reluctance to comment on the  evidence for Noem’s claim meant it was not possible to independently verify its accuracy. 

In December 2025, a claim circulated online that 50% of visas in Minnesota were fraudulent.  

The claim spread after U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said at a Cabinet meeting on Dec. 2, “You told me to look into Minnesota and their fraud on visas and their programs. Fifty percent of them are fraudulent.”

The news aggregator NewsWire wrote on X (archived) that day, “NOEM: 50% OF VISAS IN MINNESOTA ARE FRAUDULENT”

NOEM: 50% OF VISAS IN MINNESOTA ARE FRAUDULENT

— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) December 2, 2025

The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived) and Bluesky (archived).

Noem’s claim was difficult to independently verify. 

It was unclear exactly which of the many lawful ways to enter the U.S. Noem included in “visas” and “programs” that allegedly had a 50% fraud rate. Noem did not cite any data to back her claim during the Cabinet meeting, nor did a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security leads reply to clarifying questions when Snopes asked via email. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees immigration in the U.S. and whose Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate investigates immigration-related fraud, referred Snopes’ query to the DHS.

Given that we could not establish what Noem based her claim on or even to which types of “visas” and “programs” it pertained, we leave this claim unrated. 

We also reached out to the State Department, which issues visas, to ask if the agency knew what data Noem used to back her claim and await a reply.

Noem blamed Walz for fraudulent visas

During the Dec. 2 Cabinet meeting, Noem appeared to blame the high rate of perceived visa fraud on Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Noem said Walz “brought people in there illegally that never should have been in this country.”

A spokesperson for Walz’s office said via email, “These comments were puzzling seeing as the federal government is responsible for immigration and visas.” 

The spokesperson added: “We don’t lead immigration investigations and we do not track fraud in immigration cases or federal run programs.”

It is true that states generally do not regulate immigration or issue visas. The USCIS, part of DHS, has overseen immigration since 2003. The federal government has been responsible for immigration since 1891. The State Department issues visas to people wishing to enter the U.S.

Recent investigation did support Noem’s claim

The most recent data about immigration fraud in Minnesota appeared to come from a September USCIS investigation that the agency carried out in Minneapolis-St. Paul and surrounding areas.

That investigation reportedly found “evidence of fraud, non-compliance, or public safety or national security concerns” in 275 out of more than 1,000 cases it looked into, meaning no more than 27.5%. USCIS said agents found evidence of fraud in 44% of the cases they interviewed, though the agency did not say how many interviews it carried out in the investigation. 

In total, “Operation Twin Shield” led to 42 referrals to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and four arrests. That data did not directly support Noem’s claim.

Noem’s and the DHS’ reluctance to comment on the exact evidence for Noem’s claim meant it was not possible to independently verify its accuracy. 

One former immigration attorney, Professor Ana Pottratz Acosta, a visiting fellow at the University of Minnesota, told Minneapolis news station WCCO she would need “more specific data” from the DHS before “giving any credence” to Noem’s claim.