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EXCLUSIVE: HUD launches civil rights probe into Minneapolis over race-based housing priorities
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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) opened an investigation into the city of Minneapolis Thursday, alleging the city’s housing policies illegally prioritize resources based on race and national origin, Fox News Digital has learned.
«Minnesota has been ground zero for fraud and corruption because it plays a cynical game of racial and ethnic politics,» HUD Secretary Scott Turner told Fox News Digital. «This goes against our values as Americans, united by a common heritage, language and commitment to equal treatment under law.»
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor sent a letter to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Thursday evening informing him that HUD had launched a probe into whether Minneapolis violated the Fair Housing Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act through its housing plans, programs and internal equity directives.
The Fair Housing Act is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin in any program or activity that receives federal funding.
SEC SCOTT BESSENT: HOW TO STOP FRAUD IN MINNESOTA AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY
«Minnesota has been ground zero for fraud and corruption because it plays a cynical game of racial and ethnic politics,» HUD Secretary Scott Turner told Fox News Digital. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Minnesota has become the focal point of government fraud as details emerged regarding an alleged sweeping COVID-era scheme involving money laundering tied to multiple social-services programs. Nearly 100 people, most of whom are from Minnesota’s Somali community, have been charged, while federal prosecutors estimated that the total amount of fraud across various state-administered social services programs could reach more than $9 billion.
Considering the alleged fraud involved taxpayer dollars, HUD officials said evidence suggests that racial politics also extended to Minneapolis’s housing policy.
The letter argues that Minneapolis has «committed to making available and allocating housing resources based on race and nationality,» raising potential federal civil rights violations.
HUD specifically cited language in the city’s «Minneapolis 2040» comprehensive plan, as well as the city’s Strategic and Racial Equity Action Plan, as cause for concern.
Minneapolis 2040, adopted in 2020 under Frey, is the city’s comprehensive plan outlining the economic, infrastructure and environmental vision of the city across the next decade and a half. It includes a section focused on establishing «cultural districts,» which are described as «contiguous area with a rich sense of cultural and/or linguistic identity rooted in communities significantly populated by people of color, Indigenous people, and/or immigrants.»
«This plan strives to eliminate disparities among people of color and indigenous peoples compared with white people,» Minneapolis 2040 states.
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The letter also cited Minneapolis’ Strategic and Racial Equity Action guide, which instructs city departments to align racial equity goals with their plans, programs and budgets.
«Minneapolis’s current Strategic and Racial Equity Action Plan claims to tangibly align ‘racial equity goals with department plans and budgets,’» the letter states. «For example, your Community Planning and Economic Development department will prioritize ‘rental housing for Black, Indigenous, People of Color and Immigrant communities’ by ‘leveraging (its) rental licensing authority.’»
«That is not going to fly,» Trainor wrote in his letter to Frey.
Minnesota has been rocked by an alleged fraud scandal stretching back to the COVID-19 pandemic that prosecutors speculate could total billions of dollars. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Turner told Fox News Digital he «will continue to deliver on President Trump’s promise to support affordable housing for American families, in part by dismantling illegal racial and ethnic preferences that deny Americans their right to equal protection under the law.»
«I am committed to delivering on this promise by thoroughly investigating any housing discrimination involving the City of Minneapolis,» he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Frey’s office and the city of Minneapolis’ communications team Thursday evening for comment on the letter but did not immediately receive a reply.
Fallout from Minnesota’s alleged fraud scandal spilled into the governor’s race in January, when Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ended his re-election bid.
Walz, who has served as governor since 2019, said the wrongdoing unfolded on his watch. He took responsibility for oversight failures, while arguing Republicans had «sensationalized» the multibillion-dollar figures.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers question a man about his status on Lake Street near Karmel Mall in Minnesota Dec. 10, 2025. (Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Frey said earlier in January that «obviously, everybody could have done more to prevent» fraud, but that «you do not hold an entire community, any community, accountable for the actions of individuals,» referring to the Somali community.
Minneapolis has been roiled by protests and agitators clashing with federal law enforcement deployed to the state amid the fraud investigations. The chaos heightened after the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in early January after she allegedly attempted to use her vehicle as a weapon against a federal officer.
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Turner joined Fox News at the start of the new year and said HUD officials were on the ground in Minnesota investigating funds delivered to public housing authorities.
A firework explodes near fencing outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building during protests Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Jen Golbeck/The Associated Press )
«We have investigators that are making sure that any HUD-funded programs in Minnesota are being carried out appropriately,» he said. «Also, we just launched an investigation and housing authorities, public housing authorities there in Minnesota. They receive about $108 million in Minneapolis and also about $46 million in public housing assistance there. So, we want to make sure that we’re being good stewards of taxpayer money.»
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Turner reported on X Monday that his department uncovered «up to $84 million in ineligible assistance during Biden’s final year, including $496,000 in improper assistance to 509 dead tenants.»
minnesota fraud exposed,minneapolis st paul,tim walz,housing
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Russia reportedly slams Trump’s Golden Dome as ‘provocative’ as trillion-dollar shield takes shape
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Russia criticized the U.S.’ proposed Golden Dome missile defense system Monday, warning it could destabilize global nuclear deterrence, according to reports.
According to TASS, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev told Kommersant newspaper that the ambitious project is extremely «provocative.»
«Problems in the strategic sphere resulting from destabilizing U.S. actions only continue to grow. It is enough to recall the highly provocative anti-missile project ‘Golden Dome for America,’» he said, TASS reported.
«It fundamentally contradicts the assertion of the inseparable interrelationship between offensive and defensive strategic arms, which, by the way, was enshrined in the preamble of New START,» Medvedev added, citing the treaty that protects U.S. national security by placing limits on Russia’s deployed intercontinental nuclear weapons.
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Deputy head of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev speaks during an interview with Russian media at a residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. (Sputnik/Yekaterina Shtukina/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo)
A defense expert says Russia’s reaction underscores the Golden Dome’s power as a geopolitical signal to the world.
«Even before it has been built, the dome is military focused and politically focused and an incredible bargaining chip with U.S. adversaries,» defense expert Cameron Chell told Fox News Digital.
«In this case, it is Russia and China in particular, in terms of how the U.S. postures for negotiating peace terms, treaty terms and whether the U.S. will be negating their already existing arsenal,» the Draganfly CEO claimed.
The Golden Dome is a long-term missile defense concept aimed at protecting North America from ballistic, cruise and hypersonic missile threats.
Chell spoke after the Pentagon released its National Defense Strategy on Jan. 23, outlining a renewed focus on homeland defense, expanded missile defense, counter-drone systems, cyber capabilities and long-range strike forces.
The planned Golden Dome missile defense shield is designed to defeat «large missile barrages and other advanced aerial attacks,» the strategy said, while also hardening military and key civilian infrastructure against cyber strikes as Russia and China continue expanding their hypersonic weapons programs.
‘GOLDEN DOME’ MISSILE SHIELD TO BE TESTED BY TRUMP IN KEY AMERICAN TERRITORY
President Donald Trump announced his proposal for a «Golden Dome» missile defense system in the United States on May 20, 2025. (Leah Millis/Reuters/File Photo; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, China has also pushed back against the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, accusing Washington of undermining global strategic stability and risking the weaponization of outer space.
«There’s big value in the talk and the build-out of Golden Dome, even long before it gets built, not to mention the research and technology development that comes out of it,» Chell said.
«The posturing and the economic benefits of building something like this are also factored into why the dome is so important.»
The project’s sheer scale is expected to drive its strategic impact but could also come with an enormous price tag.
«The dome is going to take trillions to build and is the largest military project, probably the largest engineering and technology project ever attempted, so there are going to be challenges getting it done,» Chell explained.
«The U.S. has ten years of planning, including where they are going to have communication links, radar systems, and early warning systems.» That planning, Chell noted, is shifting focus north.
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The Golden Dome will need space-based radar capabilities. (Lockheed Martin )
«In order to protect the U.S., you want to take things down before they get over the top of the country,» Chell said.
«Places like Canada, or even further north, become the dropping ground. You want to get these threats as soon as possible.»
Canada and Greenland are viewed by U.S. defense planners as critical for radar coverage, space tracking and early-warning infrastructure.
«The idea is something being shot down from space, but to do that you need very detailed landscape data of the entire North and you need access to the North,» Chell said.
President Trump has long argued the U.S. must control Greenland for national security reasons, citing its strategic Arctic location and natural resources.
«There needs to be infrastructure and oversight in the far north, in Canada, in Greenland, and places like that,» Chell said. «All that planning has to be done well ahead of time, before we have anything operational.»
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Chell also pointed to the potential role of drones in supporting the Golden Dome’s broader mission.
«Drones could be part of informing the Golden Dome as reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence tools,» he said, adding that the «entire military complex is integrated.»
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of War for comment.
spending,homeland security,defense,pentagon,russia,donald trump,national security,nato,drones,china
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El gobierno español busca regularizar a medio millón de inmigrantes sin papeles: qué pasa con los argentinos
El Consejo de Ministros español se apresta a aprobar este martes el inicio de la tramitación de un real decreto para regularizar a alrededor de medio millón de inmigrantes que llegaron antes del 31 de diciembre pasado y que demuestren al menos cinco meses de residencia en el país.
La medida fue pactada entre el oficialista Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) del jefe de gobierno Pedro Sánchez y el partido izquierdista Podemos.
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El Ejecutivo comunicó esa iniciativa después de que la secretaria política y eurodiputada de Podemos, Irene Montero, anunció el acuerdo con el PSOE con el objetivo de regularizar a alrededor de medio millón de personas.
Según datos oficiales, unos 415.000 argentinos residen en España en forma legal. El 44% de ellos tiene doble nacionalidad. Pero se desconoce cuántos viven en ese país sin documentos, aunque son una minoría con relación a otras nacionalidades latinoamericanas.
Qué implica el proyecto de regularización de inmigrantes
Al tramitarse como un real decreto, el gobierno español no requiere de su convalidación parlamentaria y puede esquivar así la falta de apoyos que los socios del ejecutivo encontraron en materia migratoria.
Según Montero, la medida implica “que tendrán papeles todas las personas que estuvieran en España antes del 31 de diciembre del año 2025 y que puedan demostrar al menos cinco meses de residencia”.
Podrán hacerlo con el empadronamiento municipal, pero también con otros medios como un informe médico, un contrato de suministro eléctrico o un certificado de envío de dinero, algo muy demandado por las entidades sociales debido a las dificultades que muchas veces enfrentan las personas en situación de irregularidad para acceder al padrón.
Pedro Sánchez busca regularización a medio millón de inmigrantes sin papeles (Foto: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq)
La admisión a trámite de la solicitud ya dará una autorización de residencia y trabajo por un año y suspenderá automáticamente los procedimientos de retorno o las órdenes de expulsión por motivos administrativos o por trabajar sin permiso que pesaran sobre la persona.
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Al término de ese año podrá solicitarse una autorización ordinaria conforme al reglamento de extranjería.
Fuentes del Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones precisaron que este real decreto tiene como objetivo garantizar derechos y dar seguridad jurídica a una realidad social existente.
Gobiernos liderados tanto por el PSOE como por el conservador Partido Popular (PP) aprobaron desde los años 80 hasta ocho procesos extraordinarios de regularización de inmigrantes con los que intentaron reducir el creciente número de inmigrantes extranjeros sin derechos y luchar también contra la economía informal.
Más de 840.000 inmigrantes viven en España en situación irregular
El centro de análisis Funcas (Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros) informó este lunes que la cifra de migrantes que viven en España en situación administrativa irregular sigue creciendo y ya se sitúa en 840.000 personas.
Por origen, destacan las nacionalidades del continente americano (760.000), que representan el 91 % del total de la inmigración irregular, y en especial la colombiana (cerca de 290.000), la peruana (casi 110.000) y la hondureña (90.000).
Las nacionalidades africanas (50.000), asiáticas (15.000) y europeas (14.000) se encuentran a bastante distancia.
Los datos son anteriores a la última reforma del reglamento de extranjería español, que entró en vigor en mayo de 2025 e introduce cambios para flexibilizar el acceso a la regularización por arraigo. Por eso se estima que la cifra es menor y se situaría en medio millón de personas.
Fuertes cuestionamientos de la oposición
El líder del PP, el conservador Alberto Núñez Feijóo, dijo que la política migratoria del jefe del Ejecutivo español “es tan disparatada como la ferroviaria”, tras los accidentes de tren de la última semana.
En un mensaje en la red social X, Núñez Feijóo escribió: “Hasta 46 muertos. Cientos de heridos. Ninguna dimisión. Y la primera respuesta de Sánchez es una regularización masiva para desviar la atención, aumentar el efecto llamada y desbordar nuestros servicios públicos”.
Por su parte, el líder del partido ultraderechista Vox, Santiago Abascal, tildó de “tirano” a Sánchez por impulsar esta regularización que, a su juicio, promoverá “el efecto llamada para acelerar la invasión”. “¡500.000 ilegales!”, escribió Abascal en un mensaje en X, en el que afirmó que Sánchez “odia al pueblo español” y “quiere sustituirlo”.
(Con información de EFE)
España, inmigracion
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