Officers found evidence of “fraud, non-compliance, or public safety or national security concerns in 275 cases—44 percent of cases interviewed.”
A recent sweeping investigation undertaken by multiple federal agencies in the Minnesota cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, as well as surrounding areas, in September has revealed that nearly 50 percent of immigrants interviewed as part of the sweep committed some form of immigration fraud.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in collaboration with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI, conducted Operation Twin Shield between September 19 and 28. The effort was described as "the first of its kind targeted surge of fraud detection and deterrence activities."
During the operation, USCIS officers focused on over 1,000 cases "that had fraud or ineligibility indicators," and conducted over 900 site visits and in-person interviews. Officers found evidence of "fraud, non-compliance, or public safety or national security concerns in 275 cases—44 percent of cases interviewed."
USCIS has issued 42 notices to appear to illegal immigrants or referred them to ICE, and 4 illegal immigrants were apprehended.
One case highlighted by USCIS was a man who "admitted to fabricating a death certificate from Kenta for $100 to falsely claim the termination of a marriage—the spouse in question is alive, residing in Minneapolis, and is the mother of his five children."
Another case involved the son of a "known or suspected terrorist" who had overstayed his visa and had previously been found to have "engaged in marriage fraud that resulted in the denial of several immigration benefit requests."
"In another case, a petitioner admitted to officers with Operation Twin Shield that she committed marriage fraud; this was only a few hours after swearing that her marriage was bona fide during an interview at our Minneapolis office. In another case, an alien engaged in marriage fraud by taking advantage of an elderly U.S. citizen spouse, including subjecting the spouse to elder abuse and exploitation. This is a small sample of the immigration fraud USCIS officers across the nation combat every single day."
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow said, "USCIS is declaring an all-out war on immigration fraud. We will relentlessly pursue everyone involved in undermining the integrity of our immigration system and laws. With help from ICE and the FBI, USCIS’ Operation Twin Shield was a tremendous success—hundreds of bad actors will be held accountable. Immigration fraud undermines the integrity of our lawful immigration system, harms those who follow the law, and poses risks to national security and public safety. Under President Trump, we will leave no stone unturned."
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