WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration said on Thursday it was creating a new division at the US Department of Justice to combat what the White House called “rampant” fraud across the country.
Rights advocates and critics have said the Trump administration has used fraud allegations as an excuse to target immigrants and political opponents. They have also dismissed Trump’s ability to tackle fraud, citing pardons from Trump to those who have faced fraud convictions in the past.
“To combat the rampant and pervasive problem of fraud in the United States, the DOJ’s new division for national fraud enforcement will enforce the federal criminal and civil laws against fraud targeting federal government programs, federally funded benefits, businesses, nonprofits and private citizens nationwide,” the White House said in a statement.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has singled out Minnesota, alleging rampant fraud is being committed by immigrants in the welfare system and social-service programs.
Trump administration officials have frequently and sharply attacked the state’s Somali community, the largest in the country. Rights and immigration advocates say Trump has exaggerated isolated examples and used those to engage in what they called federal overreach.
