San Diego elected officials are condemning what they call harassment and hate targeting Somali child care providers, following online allegations of widespread fraud that local leaders say are false. The controversy began after a video by self-described independent journalist Nick Shirley gained hundreds of millions of views on social media. In the video, Shirley alleges that several Somali-run day cares in Minnesota were fraudulently receiving millions of taxpayer dollars. Officials in Minneapolis and the day cares featured have denied those claims. After reports surfaced that Shirley traveled to San Diego, local leaders said similar communities were being targeted. A coalition of state and local elected officials, including Assemblymember Chris Ward, spoke out, saying child care providers in San Diego neighborhoods are being profiled and harassed. “…….. specifically to kind of fake interview and sort of stir the pot and really target some of our child care providers in our own communities,” Ward said. Ward said the activity has expanded into neighborhoods such as City Heights. “You know they are now going into City Heights and into areas in our community and targeting the very same individuals and it’s harmful,” Ward said. Last month, the United Domestic Workers of America labor union held a press conference to share the experience of a local child care provider. “The lies about widespread fraud and abuse must stop. They are putting people, including children, in real danger,” said Samsum Khalif, a child care provider. Amy Reichert, a local activist and former candidate for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said she accompanied Shirley to local businesses. In a statement to NBC 7, Reichert said her review of local day cares uncovered health and safety violations. She has shared multiple posts on social media of her and Shirley in San Diego. “My review of local daycares has revealed multiple serious health and safety violations as substantiated by State Childcare Inspectors, as well as instances where California state inspectors conducted multiple visits and found high enrollment numbers but no children present at many locations,” her statement said. “In state records, at some locations inspectors found violations for no facility roster, no emergency contact information for parents and missing infant sleep logs. It’s important to clarify that at no point have I claimed that there is fraud. Furthermore, at no time was any racial or ethnic group targeted. All searches and findings were conducted alphabetically and relied solely on publicly available records from the Department of Social Services Childcare Licensing Division. These records are available to any member of the public.” Shirley has not released any findings or video related to San Diego and did not respond to requests for comment. Ward said local leaders are prepared to respond if harassment continues. “And we recognize that if something is Islamophobic or racist or otherwise, you know, targeting them as individuals or a community, we’re going to continue to be able to push back with all the weight that we have as the representatives,” Ward said. NBC 7 has reached out to the California Department of Social Services and the County of San Diego regarding any allegations, investigations or harassment claims. The state said it is reviewing the questions. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less