Tipsheet

Nick Shirley Was Asked If He Worries His Reporting Demonizes Immigrants—His Answer Was Simple

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  May 08, 2026 2:15 PM

Independent journalist and YouTuber Nick Shirley gave the perfect response when asked whether he was concerned that his reporting on fraud across the country risks demonizing immigrant communities. 

He argued that the focus should not be on which communities are being demonized, but on the fraud itself, since it affects every taxpayer regardless of their political affiliation. He added that, in his view, politicians are exploiting immigrants to carry out fraud, and that if there is concern about harming those communities, they shouldn't be involved in such schemes in the first place.

"Supporters say you expose real corruption, but critics say you're reporting fuels, suspicion toward immigrant communities. Do you worry there's a line between exposing fraud and creating fear?" ESPN analyst and political commentator Stephen A. Smith asked.

"No, I think fraud's all of our dollars. I mean, when you pay taxes, it's just as much as a Republican dollars as a Democrat dollar," Shirley replied. "And I think these, these politicians need to stop using immigrant communities to commit fraud."

"And that's what you think this is about? They're using migrants and immigrants to, to commit fraud," Smith said.

"Yeah. In a lot of these cases, Minnesota, they use the Somalians and in California, they use the Armenians, and they let that happen for years upon years," he said.

This comes as Shirley rose to national prominence for exposing alleged Somali daycare fraud in Minnesota, where some providers reportedly billed state and federal programs for services that were never actually delivered. He has since expanded his reporting to California, focusing on hospice and daycare-related fraud. 

Democrats, rather than addressing the claims or launching their own investigations, have instead dismissed Shirley as a right-wing hack, as event he Governor of California took to mocking him as a creep.

Despite the pushback, Shirley has continued his reporting and recently traveled to Cuba to document the horrifying conditions of life in a communist country.