Feb 16, 2026
~~~~TRANSCRIPT BEGINS
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Mr. Ballou, again thank you for being here.
Let me ask you, does large scale Somali immigration
Make Minnesota stronger or weaker?
Brendan Ballou (former DOJ Special Counsel): Certainly stronger.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Certainly stronger. Do you know what percentage of Somali headed housholds in Minnesota are on food stamps?
Brendan Ballou: No.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): 54%. Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota headed households?
Brendan Ballou: Well, to be clear, a majority of the...
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): It's 7%. There's a big difference between 54% and 7% is there not?
Brendan Ballou: Excuse me, Sir. Could I...could I answer the question?
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Let me move on, we've got a lot of questions here. What percentage of Somali headed households in Minnesota are on Medicaid?
Brendan Ballou: I don't know.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): It's 73%. Do you know what that number is for Minnesota native households?
Brendan Ballou: Again, you're using the phrase 'Minnesota native households,' but the majority...
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): The number...
Brendan Ballou: If, if ...
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): ...is 18%. That's quite an astounding difference, I think we would agree.
Brendan Ballou: Can I answer the question please?
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Let me ask you one more and then we can go into that. What percentage of Somali headed households are on Welfare in general?
Rep.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): It's 81%. What about...let me just ask you, after 10 years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali immigrant households are on, continue to be on Welfare?
Brendan Ballou: I don't know.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): The number is 78%. So even after 10 years, 78% of Somali immigrant continue to be on Welfare. Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota headed households?
Brendan Ballou: Again you're using....
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Non Somali Immigrant headed households.
Brendan Ballou: If I can just answer the question.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Go for it.
Brendan Ballou: You're using the phrase, 'native Minnesotans'; the majority of Somali Minnesotans are as Minnesotan as any of us. They were born in the United States. It's only 8,000 of the 108,000 Somali's here....
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): And nevertheless, the Welfare usage is astoundingly different. Let me ask you again, does that make Minnesota stronger or weaker?
Brendan Ballou: Again, I'd like the opportunity to answer the question here.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Of course.
Brendan Ballou: So, again, the majority of of Somalis in Minnesota are born in the United States, as I understand it...
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): Okay, what percentage of working age Somalians that have been in the U.S. for 10 years or more, 10 years or more, how many of them speak English very well?
Brendan Ballou: I don't know.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas): About half. The answer is about half. That seems pretty low, doesn't it?
Brendan Ballou: Again...
~~~~END OF TRANSCRIPT
