Turner links alleged Minnesota fraud to immigration and cites large figures; claims unverified on air

In response to a question from host Tony about whether the fraud and misuse of housing assistance in Minnesota connect to illegal immigration, Secretary Scott Turner made a series of broad assertions about scale and program use. Turner said "over 12,000,000 people came across our border" and asserted that illegal migration "has really, caused the housing supply in our country to be squeezed." He said it "caused the cost of housing to go up" and claimed that "nearly 100% of the rental demand in states like New York and California is due to illegal, immigration."

Turner also said, "Just here at HUD, we found that over 59% of illegal alien families use 1 or more of our welfare, programs here in America, costing about $42,000,000,000 a year." He framed these numbers as part of why HUD must "turn the faucet off" and prioritize serving "American people and American people only."

The statements were presented as Turner's assertions during the interview. No corroborating data, documents, or on-air independent sources were provided to substantiate the population, program-use, or cost figures. The host did not offer competing data or push for documentary evidence during the brief exchange.

Because these are significant quantitative claims about migration, program participation, and fiscal cost, they require independent verification before being treated as established fact. The interview record shows them as claims by the HUD secretary; the transcript does not show supporting evidence or a response from other agencies in this segment.