Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised Friday to always stand with her law enforcement amid nationwide protests targeting Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers.

Noem’s commitment comes as anti-ICE protesters across the country have popped up after a 37-year-old woman was shot in Minneapolis while driving her car toward an ICE officer. Noem has said that the woman was attempting to run down the officer and said she had engaged in an act of domestic terrorism.

“I want to take a moment to express how thankful I am every single day for the men and women who put on the badge and put their lives on the line to protect the American people,” Noem said on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. “With more than 80,000 officers and agents, our Department is the largest law enforcement agency in the federal government.”

Noem added that Americans should take time to buy law enforcement officers coffee or a meal to say thank you.

“We recognize the sacrifice you and your families make to protect and serve the American people and our great country. President Trump and I will always stand with you,” she said. “Please take some time today to thank an officer or agent today. Make them a meal, buy them a cup of coffee, or simply thank them. To every officer who puts on the badge each day: thank you. Your service is paramount to our nation’s safety.”

DHS says that its officers have faced a 1,300% increase in assaults, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats.

The agent who fatally shot the woman in Minneapolis had previously been dragged 100 yards by a vehicle driven by an illegal immigrant sex offender he was trying to take off the streets.

Despite the ongoing protests, ICE agents continued to pick up illegals on Thursdays convicted of heinous crimes. DHS told The Daily Wire they arrested the following “worst of the worst” illegals on Thursday:

-Angelica Maria Lua-Pinon, an illegal alien from Mexico convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 in San Fernando, California.

-Jorge Alberto Olivares-Lagunes, an illegal alien from Mexico convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Hays County, Texas.

-Ricardo Garcia-Villegas, an illegal alien from Mexico convicted of murder in Queens, New York.

-Edwin Sanchez-Montiel, an illegal alien from El Salvador convicted of accessory after the fact relating to first-degree murder in Montgomery County, Maryland.

-Inmar Hernandez-Carcamo, an illegal alien from El Salvador convicted of firearms trafficking conspiracy in the U.S. District Court, District of Maryland.

Lua-Pinon/Olivares-Lagunes: DHS.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that multiple money service businesses in Minnesota were under investigation for potentially transferring money stolen from the federal government overseas to Somalia.

Bessent made the comments during a press conference from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area where he announced actions that the Treasury Department and the IRS are taking to crack down on fraud. He said that multiple money service businesses — non-bank financial institutions that transmit money — had been informed that they were under investigation.

“Our citizens have a right to know that their tax dollars are not being diverted to fund acts of global terror, or to fund luxury cars for fraudsters. Democratic Governor Tim Walz has allowed welfare programs and fraud to spiral out of control,” he said. “Billions of dollars intended for hungry children, housing for disabled seniors, and services for children with special needs were diverted to people who cheated the system, some of whom are not even American citizens.”

Bessent said that the IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen), the arm of the Treasury that investigates money laundering and terrorist financing, were looking into whether money fraudulently obtained through welfare programs went to Al-Shabaab, an Islamic terror group in Somalia.

Both agencies are investigating whether financial institutions complied with regulations to detect money laundering and other illicit activities. He did not disclose which money service businesses were under investigation.

“These businesses had an obligation to comply with anti-money laundering laws, and they will be held responsible for any crimes they committed,” he said.

Additionally, Bessent said that banks in Hennepin County, which encompasses Minneapolis, and Ramsey County, home to St. Paul, were being required to submit information about money transferred overseas.

Bessent estimated that around $300 million in funds had been fraudulently taken from the federal government through welfare programs meant to help impoverished children.

When asked by The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan during the conference if Walz may be potentially wrapped up in the investigation, Bessent said, “It’s clear that Governor Walz has been negligent in his fiduciary duties as the chief executive of the state of Minnesota that this would happen on his watch, and we are actively pursuing all leads to see the level of involvement, whether it’s limited to just negligence and incompetence, or is something more than that.”

.@MaryMargOlohan asks Sec. Bessent what role Tim Walz played in the Somali fraud scandal: @SecScottBessent: “It’s clear that Gov. Walz has been negligent…We are actively pursuing all leads to see the level of involvement whether it’s limited to negligence and incompetence or… pic.twitter.com/AY5IGfprY9

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 9, 2026

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has mobilized multiple departments to investigate alleged widespread fraud in Minnesota, including allegations that millions of taxpayer dollars have been funneled to fraudulent daycares across the state throughout the past ten years.

The Department of Health and Human Services has stopped funding for childcare and other welfare programs to Minnesota while federal law enforcement investigates.