WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump vowed Tuesday to strip the citizenship of naturalized Americans who have engaged in fraud, pointing in particular to the Somali American community.

"We're also going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or anywhere else who is convicted of defrauding our citizens. We're going to get them the hell out of here fast," the US president said to applause at the Detroit Economic Club.

"If you come to America to rob Americans, we're throwing you in jail, and we're sending you back to the place from where you came. We're throwing you right in jail. And they know it too," he added.

The comments mark the latest attack on the Somali American community as Trump ramps up his deportation campaign in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a Midwestern city that is home to a large Somali community.

The crackdown came after a right-wing influencer claimed without proof that the Somali residents of Minneapolis engaged in massive fraud related to publicly-subsidized day care centers. Investigations into the claims remain ongoing, but Trump has nonetheless halted federal child care payments to five Democratic-led states.

A federal judge last Friday ordered a moratorium on Trump's decree after the states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York sued.

Trump has claimed the existence of “migrant crime waves” as a justification for deportations and crackdowns, although statistics show immigrants are far less likely to commit crimes than the native-born population.

Additionally, he has been accused of using false or exaggerated claims of fraud as a tool to go after his perceived enemies.