ICE arrests more students, others being removed from US (update)
ICE arrests more students at fake university, others being removed from US
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free PressPublished 6:01 a.m. ET March 8, 2019 | Updated 5:06 p.m. ET March 8, 2019
Federal immigration officials have arrested more students who were enrolled at a fake university in metro Detroit.
And many of the students who enrolled at the university created by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are now in the process of being removed from the U.S. as Indian-American advocates grapple with what they say is an unprecedented number of arrests of Indian students.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested 161 foreign students from the University of Farmington on civil immigration violations, ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls said this week.
"Several have since been removed and others are currently in various stages of the removal process," Walls said.
More could be arrested or removed in the future as "enforcement action against current and former students of the University of Farmington remains ongoing," Walls said.
More: Emails show how fake university in metro Detroit lured students
More: Attorney: Fake Farmington university sting by ICE was entrapment
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webpBuy PhotoThe building that was used as the fake Farmington University campus by the federal government seen on Thursday, February 7, 2019, in Farmington Hills, Michigan. (Photo: Eric Seals, Detroit Free Press)
The number of jailed students grows
About 600 students, mostly from India, were enrolled at the university in Farmington Hills, a majority of them in master's degree programs in engineering or computer-related fields. The students had arrived in the U.S. legally through approved student visas and didn't have criminal records, said immigration attorneys.
On Jan. 30, federal authorities announced the University of Farmington was a fake university set up by DHS that lured students in an undercover operation by posing as a real university with authorization by the U.S. government and an accreditation agency. About 130 students were arrested in January.
That has increased to 161 students arrested as of Feb. 19, Walls said. The students are being housed at 34 detention centers across the U.S., said the American Telugu Association.
The immigration violations they're now accused of only happened because the university they were enrolled in was fake and set up by ICE, something the students did not know at the time they enrolled, said attorneys.
The roughly 440 remaining students who haven't been arrested are anxious about their future status, with some of them already opting to leave, said immigration attorneys.
Most of the students are from Telugu-speaking regions of India, said the association and lawyers for the students.
One student who is Palestinian and was arrested has left for the West Bank.
ICE did not have the specific numbers of how many former students have left the U.S. and how many remain in custody. An additional eight were arrested and charged criminally as being recruiters of the students.
About 100 of the students arrested on immigration charges remain in jail, said Parmesh Bheemreddy, president of the American Telugu Association. He expressed frustration with getting solid information about the status of the students and little help from elected officials or Indian embassy officials.
"We're having a tough time tracking down" all of the students, Bheemreddy said. He said the scale of arrests of Indian students has not been seen before.
It has "never happened in the history of the Indian diaspora" to have this many arrested at the same time, he said.
Some of the students at the University of Farmington have been granted what's called a voluntary departure, which is legally different from being deported. This could allow them a chance to come to the U.S. in the future after a three or 10-year period, depending on how long they were at the fake university, said attorneys.
Some were able to get released on bond while they await their departure date, said Bheemreddy. But others, like at the detention center in Butler County in Ohio, have not been allowed to post bond, he said.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webp
University of Farmington office in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Photo taken in 2017. (Photo: Matt Friedman/Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications)
In one case, a student was arrested one month after the birth of his baby, said Bheemreddy.
"She's going through hell in Ohio," he said.
In another case, a student had to break off a marriage because he now faces being sent back to India, said Bheemreddy, who has been in touch with students and attorneys.
Many of the students come from poor backgrounds in India and took out "loans to study here to study and pursue the American dream," he said. Now, it will be difficult to pay off their debts after they're sent back to India.
"Most of them who have had court dates were granted voluntary departure," said Prashanthi Reddy, an attorney in New York City who represents some of the students.
Reddy said some of the jailed students have court dates coming up later this month, but there are delays for those who have been released on bond.
More: India urges U.S. to release students detained in fake Michigan university sting
More: Fake University of Farmington in Michigan leads to 130 arrests
More: Farmington Hills fake university set up by ICE to nab foreign students
Others are facing challenges being in jail for the first time.
Many are vegetarians for cultural and religious reasons and have lost a lot of weight while in detention.
Some are just getting "green beans and some bread" in jail, Bheemreddy said. "Many have lost weight and look like punctured balloons."
"These are innocent girls and boys," he said of the students. "They're not criminals. It's mentally and physically torturing. It is a life-changing event for them."
Last month, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, met with members of the Telugu community at her district office in Lansing, according to a letter she sent to them. The letter expressed concern for the students' safety and welfare.
Bheemreddy said the letter should have been sent to the Department of Homeland Security or ICE in order to be more effective.
Indian government officials have previous said they're trying to help the students who were detained.
Rahul Reddy, an immigration attorney in Houston who is representing some of the students, estimates that about 90 percent of the students will eventually be removed to India.
He said that of the eight students in Texas he's in contact with, six of them have taken the voluntary departure.
In one case, ICE had contacted a student and told him to report to their office. The student purchased a plane ticket for India and when he showed up for the appointment, he told them he was already planning to leave for India, Reddy said.
Fake university sting is not the first
The students who enrolled at the University of Farmington were told they could work on what are called Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Curricular Practical Training (CPT) programs after they enrolled. The U.S. government says the Farmington university didn't have classes.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2...unds&auto=webp
Website of the University of Farmington in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Prosecutors say it is a fake university set up by the Dept. of Homeland Security. (Photo: Detroit Free Press screenshot)
Reddy said that there are other universities in the U.S. that have similar programs. He said that DHS should target those universities instead of creating a fake university and arresting the students.
At a previous sting operation in 2016 involving the fake University of Northern New Jersey, students who were enrolled were not arrested. When the U.S. targeted other universities in recent years that were described as basically being diploma mills, the students were also not arrested.
Walls, the ICE spokesman, said the students "who have not been issued a Notice to Appear charging immigration violations are currently not in removal proceedings requiring their appearance before an Immigration Court."
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo
Below is a list of 34 detention centers across the U.S. where the students arrested by ICE are being held.
Source: American Telugu Association
https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...on/3026214002/
8 sentenced for immigration scam at phony ‘school’ in Farmington Hills
By Aileen Wingblad
7 hrs ago
Sentencing has been handed down for eight people convicted in an immigration fraud scheme operating out of a fake university in Farmington Hills.
The University of Farmington was set up by federal agents to catch people making money by helping foreigners stay illegally in the United States as students. It had offices in Farmington Hills but no classes or teachers.
Sentenced Jan. 30 in U.S. District Court in Detroit for actively recruiting foreigners to enroll in the school were:
• Barath Kakireddy, 30, of Lake Mary, Florida - Sentenced to 18 months
• Suresh Kandala, 32, of Culpeper, Virginia - Sentenced to 18 months
• Phanideep Karnati, 36, of Louisville, Kentucky - Sentenced to six months
• Prem Rampeesa, 27, of Charlotte, North Carolina - Sentenced to 12 months and one day
• Santosh Sama, 29, of Fremont, California - Sentenced to 24 months
• Avinash Thankkallapally, 29 of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - Sentenced to 15 months
• Aswanth Nune, 27, of Atlanta, Georgia - Sentenced to 12 months and one day
• Naveen Prathipati, 27, of Dallas, Texas - Sentenced to 12 months and one day
According to court records, the recruiters helped the “students” fraudulently obtain immigration documents form the school — which they didn’t realize was a Home Security Investigations’ undercover operation. The recruiters also facilitated the creation of false student records, including transcripts, to deceive immigration authorities. This went on for approximately two years, beginning in February 2017.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office - Eastern District of Michigan states that the illegal documents obtained were based on “false claims, false statements and fraud since the purported foreign students had no intention of attending school, nor attended a single class, and were not bona fide students. All participants in the scheme knew that the school had no instructors or actual classes.” The scheme reportedly resulted in more than $250,000 in profit.
“As this case shows, the well-intended international student visa program can be exploited and abused,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider stated in the release. “These foreign “students” weren’t students at all – they were scam artists trying to stay in our country illegally, and they all fully knew there were no classes to attend.”
Added Vance Callender, HSI Detroit special agent in charge: “Today’s sentencing of the final criminal defendant in HSI’s University of Farmington investigation makes it unequivocally clear that every individual who participated in this scheme knew it was an illegal pay-to-stay scam. Building off lessons learned from the September 11 attacks, HSI is dedicated to protecting the homeland in part by ensuring the integrity of the Student Visa Program so it can continue to benefit everyone.
“Unscrupulous schools whose sole motive is profit and not education do exist and this investigation not only exposed these types of criminals, but has helped create a feeling of omnipresence by law enforcement that will make others think twice before exploiting the program.”
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