According to reports, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States has arrested 250 students who enrolled in a fake university set up by federal authorities as part of an immigration raid.
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250 foreign students arrested in the US after enrolling in a fake university deliberately set up by the government
Not less than 250 foreign students have been arrested in the United States of America after enrolling in a fake university deliberately set up by the government
250 foreign students arrested in the US after enrolling in a fake university deliberately set up by the government
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Hundreds of foreign students and recruiters were arrested after enrolling in the University of Farmington, a fake college the Department of Homeland Security established as part of a sting operation to apprehend and prosecute students committing visa and immigration fraud, the Detroit Free Press reported on Wednesday.
Most of the arrested students were Indians, and they have all been slapped with charges of immigration and visa fraud.
ICE officials told the outlet that out of the 250 students, "nearly 80% were granted voluntary departure and departed the United States," while other 20% of students caught up in the sting have either received official deportation orders or are fighting in court to stay in the United States.
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It is further reported that seven out of eight individuals who prosecutors identified as recruiters for the fake university have pleaded guilty to charges.
They admitted to facilitating a conspiracy to commit and facilitate visa fraud by helping nearly 600 students obtain falsified transcripts and records from the university to secure student visas.
According to the grand jury indictment filed against the eight recruiters, "the University was being used by foreign citizens as a 'pay to stay' scheme which allowed these individuals to stay in the United States as a result of foreign citizens falsely asserting that they were enrolled as full-time students in an approved educational program and that they were making normal progress toward completion of the course of study."
The fake university which was created in 2015 as a component of "Operation Paper Chase", was part of a wider crackdown on illegal immigration and visa fraud.
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