Democrat witness Brendan Ballou claimed during a Wednesday hearing that the influx of Somali immigrants made his home state of Minnesota &#8220;stronger&#8221; – but Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) brought data that said the exact opposite.
During the hearing — which was scheduled as part of an investigation into widespread fraud in Minnesota that has been linked to the Somali immigrant community — Gill posed a direct question to the former federal prosecutor, asking whether Somalis made the state weaker or stronger.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This Democrat witness claims large-scale Somali immigration makes Minnesota stronger.
The numbers tell a different story. <a href="https://t.co/ufxlVgwqLa">pic.twitter.com/ufxlVgwqLa</a>
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepBrandonGill/status/2008934421403934728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Does large-scale Somali immigration make Minnesota stronger or weaker?&#8221; Gill asked.
&#8220;Certainly stronger,&#8221; Ballou said.
&#8220;Certainly stronger,&#8221; Gill repeated. &#8220;Do you know what percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on food stamps?&#8221;
Ballou did not.
&#8220;Fifty-four percent,&#8221; Gill replied. &#8220;Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households?&#8221;
Ballou protested, &#8220;Well, to be clear, a majority of the —&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s seven percent,&#8221; Gill continued. &#8220;There&#8217;s a big difference between fifty-four percent and seven percent, is there not?&#8221;
&#8220;Excuse me, sir, could I answer the question?&#8221; Ballou asked.
&#8220;Let me move on, we&#8217;ve got a lot of questions here,&#8221; Gill said, asking, &#8220;What percentage of Somali-headed households are on Medicaid?&#8221;
Ballou did not know.
&#8220;It&#8217;s seventy-three percent,&#8221; Gill said. &#8220;Do you know what that number is for Minnesota native households?&#8221;
Ballou once again objected to the terminology, but did not answer the question.
&#8220;The number is eighteen percent,&#8221; Gill replied. &#8220;That&#8217;s quite an astounding difference, I think we would agree.&#8221;
Ballou continued to protest about Gill&#8217;s use of the term &#8220;native Minnesotan,&#8221; but made no move to supply answers to Gill&#8217;s questions.
&#8220;Let me ask you one more, and then we can go into that,&#8221; Gill said. &#8220;What percentage of Somali-headed households are on welfare in general?&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Ballou conceded.
&#8220;It&#8217;s eighty-one percent. What about — let me just ask you, after ten years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali immigrant households are on — continue to be on welfare?&#8221; Gill pressed again, and again Ballou did not know the answer until Gill provided it: &#8220;The number is seventy-eight percent. So even after ten years, seventy-eight percent of Somali immigrant households continue to be on welfare. Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households? Non-Somali immigrant-headed households.&#8221;
Ballou protested again, claiming, &#8220;You&#8217;re using the phrase &#8216;native Minnesotans,&#8217; the majority of Somali Minnesotans are as Minnesotan as any of us, they were born in the United States —&#8221;
&#8220;Nevertheless, the welfare usage is astoundingly different,&#8221; Gill declared.

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Dem Witness Says Somali Immigrants Make Minnesota ‘Stronger.’ GOP Rep’s Receipts Say Otherwise.