Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared in Seattle as the featured guest at a fundraising luncheon for Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, where he pledged to bring additional Somali immigrants to Minnesota while facing intensifying criticism at home over a major welfare fraud case.

“Instead of demonizing our Somali community, we’re going to do more to welcome more in,” Walz told attendees, who responded with applause.

“Instead of cutting programs, we’re going to enhance them.”

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Walz said Minnesota accepts more refugees per capita than any other state.

He told the audience that “our neighbors are being demonized” and described communities as being “terrorized” and “literally picked up off the streets,” referencing recent immigration enforcement operations.

Walz also criticized federal agents assisting with Minnesota-based raids, remarking that cold weather kept them inside their vehicles and describing Minnesotans taunting them outdoors.

Positioning his remarks as a response to political criticism, Walz added, “These folks better not ever mistake our kindness for our weakness because we are going to defend our neighbors.”

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He acknowledged his frustration with the current climate but said the state’s response should come through “positive actions to improve lives.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, under fire for failing to prevent a major welfare fraud scheme in his state, was in Seattle on Tuesday as the special guest at Gov. Bob Ferguson’s fundraising luncheon.

He told attendees that Somalis were being ‘demonized’ and vowed to bring more into… pic.twitter.com/fjT9yXZhtE

— The Center Square Washington (@TCSWashington) December 10, 2025

The luncheon, held at the Washington State Convention Center, drew more than 1,000 attendees, according to The Center Square.

Table sponsorships reached as high as $2,500.

Walz received standing ovations both when he was introduced and when he took the stage in a sixth-floor ballroom.

Walz’s appearance comes amid a federal investigation into a large fraud scheme that targeted Minnesota’s social services programs.

The case has drawn national attention following allegations that oversight failures allowed fraud to grow for years and steal over $1 billion in taxpayer funds.

Walz did not address specific details of the investigation during the Seattle event, though he referred broadly to the backlash he says immigrant communities are experiencing.

Walz opened his speech with a reference to President Donald Trump, saying that “people who are smart” tend to “rub Donald Trump the wrong way,” a line that drew laughter and applause.

He delivered the remark as he highlighted Ferguson’s background as a state chess champion.

Before Ferguson spoke, Democratic Rep. Osman Salahuddin of Redmond encouraged attendees to contribute immediately, citing an upcoming pause in fundraising due to the start of the legislative session.

Ferguson then took the stage to a standing ovation and reviewed his tenure as attorney general, focusing on Washington state’s legal challenges to actions by the Trump administration.

“We were the first state to take on Trump in 2017 and win, and the first state to take on Donald Trump in 2025 and win was Washington state,” Ferguson said.

He also credited his staff and the office of Attorney General Nick Brown.

Ferguson said he plans to continue opposing federal actions he views as harmful to the state, arguing that Washington’s budget constraints are partly driven by policy decisions at the federal level.

The audience included a range of state and local officials, among them Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, newly sworn-in King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, former State Sen. Mark Mullet, and additional elected leaders and candidates.

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