The Department of Homeland Security set up a fake university in Michigan called the University of Farmington, which drew in students with the promise of a “pay to stay” student visa scam.
The sting operation has drawn heavy criticism from people on the left who already view ICE with disdain and many critics have blamed Trump, although the program began on Obama’s watch.
Madison Dibble writes at the Washington Examiner:
ICE arrests 90 illegal immigrants in a sting operation using a fake universityUsing a fake university based in Michigan, ICE arrested 90 more illegal immigrant students, bringing the total sting operation arrests to about 250.The Department of Homeland Security created a fake Michigan-based college called the University of Farmington that the department marketed to foreign-born students looking to work in technology. The fake university told the students they could be enrolled in their school to get into the United States on student visas and then never attend the school as part of a “pay to stay” scam.Students who agreed were arrested on visa fraud and deported. Only 10% of the 250 students caught in the sting had to be deported by Customs and Border Protection. The remaining 80% self-deported after being caught. The remaining 10% have their status tied up as they contest their deportation to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, claiming the situation is entrapment.
Morgan Phillips of FOX News has more:
ICE arrests 90 foreign students at fake Michigan universityThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has arrested 90 additional foreign-born students in recent months in a sting operation at a fake Michigan university designed to draw in students who are trying to stay in the U.S. illegally, according to a new report.The University of Farmington advertised a “dynamic business administration and STEM curriculum” program, but the students, mostly from India, “knew that they would not attend any actual classes, earn credits or make academic progress towards an actual degree,” according to a January indictment…Attorneys for ICE and the Department of Justice said the students should have known it was not a legitimate university because it did not have classes in any sort of physical location, the Free Press reported.”Their true intent could not be clearer,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Helms wrote in a memo, per the publication. “While ‘enrolled’ at the university, [100] percent of the foreign citizen students never spent a single second in a classroom.”
Certain figures on the left have used this to push their agenda of abolishing the agency:
Again, this began in 2015 while Obama was still president. From NBC News:
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations arm in 2015 established a fictional college, the University of Farmington, as part of an undercover operation, according to the indictments.
Even this video report from CBS News notes that this stretches back to the Obama administration:
A separate report from Madison Dribble of the Washington Examiner also explains how the Obama administration did something similar in New Jersey in 2016:
But the Trump administration didn’t come up with the scheme. That credit should be given to Obama’s administration. Activist Ben Speilberg noted that Obama was not only responsible for the idea, which was implemented in 2015, but his administration also used a similar sting operation in 2013.He tweeted, “ICE began this outrageous fake college entrapment scheme in 2015. ICE did the same thing to over 1,000 students in New Jersey in 2016 (they opened the fake New Jersey college in 2013).”
This is what happens when the media takes an eight year vacation because they like the president. They could have looked into this and reported it back then, but they were too busy telling us how wonderful Obama was.
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