Federal agents forced their way into a Minneapolis day care in the Phillips neighborhood early Tuesday, jolting parents and neighbors awake along a usually quiet stretch of 13th Avenue South. Witnesses said officers pried open doors at Metro Learning Center just before 7 a.m., flooding the block, which is lined with Somali-owned businesses and an Islamic center, with a visible federal presence. The show of force stirred up anxiety in a community still on edge from a winter surge of federal enforcement, and no arrests were announced at the scene.
State records list Abdullahi Musse as the owner of Metro Learning Center, according to KSTP. Agents handed paperwork to a man who responded to that name after going inside. Musse told the station, "Nothing I know," and said the day care continued to serve families. The Minnesota Department of Human Services had cited the center in January for failing to update a background check on one member of its staff, KSTP reported.
Part of a larger fraud sweep
The raid was just one piece of a much bigger operation. Federal agents carried out roughly 20 to 22 court-authorized search warrants across the Twin Cities early Tuesday as part of a multijurisdictional investigation into alleged misuse of federal funds. The tally of 22 warrants was reported by The Washington Post. "Today the FBI with federal, state and local law enforcement is involved in court-authorized law enforcement activity as part of an ongoing fraud investigation," a Justice Department spokesperson said, according to CBS News.
Neighbors and officials react
On 13th Avenue, the early morning action felt less like a routine investigation and more like a flashback. Neighbors said the federal presence was especially unnerving after months of high-profile enforcement across Minneapolis and the violent clashes that followed last winter's Operation Metro Surge. An unnamed resident told KSTP the increased federal activity was "unsettling" and pointed to deeper community needs, including housing, food and protection from ongoing violence.
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez arrived on the block as agents worked. He declined an on-camera interview, according to KSTP, but said he wanted to be there to help ensure neighbors felt safe while the raid unfolded.
Why this matters locally
The coordinated searches highlight a renewed federal focus on allegations that billions of dollars were improperly billed to federal and state safety-net programs, an investigation that has already collided with both local politics and national scrutiny. The Washington Post reported that the raids targeted businesses tied to Minnesota's Somali community and noted that the Justice Department confirmed the searches were part of an ongoing fraud probe. For many residents, the return of large-scale federal operations raises difficult questions about how authorities balance aggressive fraud enforcement with fragile community trust.
Federal officials did not immediately release details about the specific warrants, and local leaders said they had not been briefed on targets or potential charges. The City of Minneapolis said it was not involved in the federal operation and that Minneapolis police had not been asked to assist, according to FOX 9. Reporters and federal spokespeople said the investigation is ongoing, with more information expected as the case moves forward.
