Ben Stiller’s Attempt to Defend Somalis from Trump Backfires as Social Media Users Offer a Suggestion
The article discusses a contentious national debate in the U.S. regarding widespread fraud in taxpayer-funded welfare and social service programs, with a focus on the Somali community in Minnesota. Investigations have uncovered that some individuals within this community orchestrated schemes billing millions of dollars for services never provided, with significant sums allegedly funneled to extremist groups.The New York Times reported on this issue, noting that such fraudulent behavior stems partly from experiences Somali refugees had with corruption in their home country.
Former President Donald Trump criticized immigration policies and specifically targeted Somali migrants and representative Ilhan omar with harsh rhetoric. In response, actor Ben Stiller publicly defended Somali immigrants and refugees, emphasizing that they should not be demonized and highlighting America’s immigrant roots.
Though,Stiller’s defense was met with widespread backlash on social media,with critics accusing him of ignoring the realities on the ground,pointing to the large amount of fraud committed,and challenging him to experience the situation firsthand. Many commenters suggested that celebrities like Stiller advocate for immigration from a privileged, insulated position, and urged them to demonstrate personal accountability rather than merely signaling support.
The debate highlights deep divisions over immigration, fraud, and accountability, with calls for those promoting compassion to also show practical commitment to addressing the complex issues involved.
Hollywood waded into a very real national debate this week, and it did not go the way one actor hoped.
For years, authorities in multiple states have uncovered astounding levels of fraud in welfare, housing, health care, food assistance, COVID relief, and other taxpayer-funded programs.
Much of it has involved members of the Somali community.
The numbers are staggering. The fraud has been so pervasive in Tim Walz’s Minnesota that even The New York Times — rarely eager to highlight failures tied to favored demographics — was forced to acknowledge it.
“Over the last five years, law enforcement officials say, fraud took root in pockets of Minnesota’s Somali diaspora as scores of individuals made small fortunes by setting up companies that billed state agencies for millions of dollars’ worth of social services that were never provided,” the liberal news outlet reported.
The paper even acknowledged that the behavior did not materialize out of nowhere.
Macalester College professor Ahmed Samatar, a Somali native, told the New York Times that the fraud should not be surprising.
He explained that Somali refugees who came to the U.S. after their nation’s civil war often grew up in a system where stealing from a corrupt government was routine.
Americans are rightfully furious about immigrants stealing from programs meant for U.S. citizens. President Donald Trump did not mince words about the issue Tuesday.
Trump said, “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country,” and called Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, “garbage.”
TRUMP: “Our country’s at a tipping point. We could go bad.. We’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country.”
“Ilhan Omar is garbage. She’s garbage. Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people that work. These aren’t people that say, ‘let’s go,… pic.twitter.com/fmH2t3Q2gp
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 2, 2025
“We’re going to go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” Trump added, arguing that many of these migrants “do nothing but complain.”
That set the stage for far-left Hollywood actor Ben Stiller, who decided Tuesday was the day to virtue signal.
“Somalis are not garbage,” Stiller wrote on X. “Immigrants and refugees from anywhere are people like you and me. They should not be demonized … It’s what our country is all about.”
Somalis are not garbage. Immigrants and refugees from anywhere are people like you and me. They should not be demonized. This country is built on the backs of people who have come from other places. It’s what our country is all about. 💙
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) December 3, 2025
Stiller was met not with applause, but ridicule and some suggestions.
Whether or not some people who defrauded taxpayers are immigrants is irrelevant to the fact that some people defrauded taxpayers — especially when the amount is around a billion dollars and millions were funneled to Al Shabaab.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 3, 2025
A billion dollars intended for children, the elderly and the poor instead went to a network of grifters exploiting the easy but irrelevant sentiment you signal in ignorance. Who speaks for them?
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) December 3, 2025
I love you, dude. But you’re rich enough to not actually have to worry about the actual situation on the ground.
Go to Minneapolis without your security, your camera crew or advanced notice to the govt. Spend a week there.
Report back.
— Aaron Fullen (@Bumperpunk) December 3, 2025
Ben lives in a townhouse on the UWS of Manhattan and summers in the Hamptons.
Trust me, as a NYC neighbor, this dude doesn’t associate with Somalis or 3rd world.
He’s a happy NYC elite, as he should be.
He should shut up https://t.co/9VywGGwiRF
— Peter B (@realpeteyb123) December 3, 2025
How many would you like to have sent to your multiple properties?
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) December 3, 2025
Time to lead with the example, Ben
— Omar at TX (@omarslopezarce) December 3, 2025
As many of the commenters pointed out, if Stiller feels so strongly about giving room and board to the world’s criminals, he should open his home to them.
Of course, he won’t. Like many celebrities, he champions mass migration from behind guards and gated communities.
For him, immigration is a convenient talking point and a way to earn applause from his Hollywood peers without any of the consequences regular Americans face.
At some point, the people lecturing the rest of us about compassion should volunteer to show a little of their own.
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