Federal operation targets immigration fraud

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted Operation Twin Shield, an effort to conduct fraud detection and deterrence activities in Minneapolis-St. Paul and surrounding areas, on Sept. 19-28.

The operation conducted more than 900 site visits and in-person interviews, focused on more than 1,000 cases that had fraud or ineligibility indicators, and discovered suspected fraud, non-compliance, or public safety or national security concerns in 275 cases. Officers targeted individuals with pending immigration benefits who matched specified risk criteria and
verifications for applicants for immigration benefits.

“USCIS is declaring an all-out war on immigration fraud,” Joseph Edlow, USCIS director, said.
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..”

USCIS issued notices to appear or referred aliens to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 42 cases, and four aliens were apprehended. USCIS expects adjudicative actions to increase as more administrative investigations are completed.