Vice President JD Vance revealed that about $7 billion worth of fraud has been discovered in California.
“I think we have a fraud problem that is much worse than California than it is in Minnesota,” Vance said in an interview Thursday, noting the head of US Small Business Administration gave him the shocking news.
“This is unfortunately a problem that is much bigger than Minnesota.”
The vice president also said efforts to block immigration enforcement were a uniquely blue-state phenomenon, adding that some Democratic-led states are engaged in a “small-scale civil war” with the federal government over immigration.
“You look at red states like Texas, but blue cities like Austin. You do not see this level of chaos over the enforcement of immigration laws,” he said.
His remarks come as governors like California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom have stepped up their opposition ICE activity.
Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security launched a major fraud investigation in Minnesota targeting refugee applications, with officials reexamining thousands of cases and referring suspected violations to ICE.
Vance pointed to Don Lemon and other protestors storming a church in Minnesota as well as the killing of Renee Goode, saying “a small band of very far-left people” are trying to make ICE “the ultimate enemy,” including through assaults on officers and raids on churches.
“It’s absurd,” he said. “It’s added a lot of chaos.”
