Identity and Benefit Fraud

Immigration fraud poses a severe threat to national security and public safety because it creates a vulnerability that may enable terrorists, criminals, and illegal aliens to gain entry to and remain in the United States. A concentrated national effort to combat immigration fraud aids many other programs in accomplishing their goals and objectives. Identity and benefit fraud are elements of many immigration-related issues such as human smuggling and trafficking, critical infrastructure protection, worksite and compliance enforcement and national security investigations. Immigration fraud is also a component of other types of fraud involving state driver’s licenses, state-issued public assistance and Social Security fraud. The Identity and Benefit Fraud Unit (IBFU) also coordinates its efforts with other ICE entities such as the Office of Intelligence and other components of the Department of Homeland Security such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), as well as other federal agencies such as the Department of State and Department of Labor.
Definitions

Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces
Document and Benefit Fraud Task Forces are located in Atlanta, Ga.; Boston, Mass.; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Detroit, Mich.; Los Angeles, Calif.; New York, N.Y.; Newark, N.J.; Philadelphia, Pa.; and St. Paul, Minn. The ten task forces build upon the success of an existing document and benefit fraud task force in the Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia area.

Led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the task forces build on existing partnerships to bring investigators together from a variety of agencies with expertise in different aspects of document and benefit fraud. These agents will partner with U.S. Attorney’s Offices to formulate a comprehensive approach in targeting criminal organizations behind these schemes as well as the ineligible beneficiaries of such fraud. Any case in which a sufficient nexus to terrorism is discovered will be referred to the Joint Terrorism Task Forces.

Participants in the task forces include ICE, the Department of Justice, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, State Department Office of Inspector General, State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies. The task forces will primarily target two types of crimes:

Document fraud
This crime refers to the manufacture, sale or use of counterfeit identity documents, such as fake driver’s licenses, birth certificates, social security cards, or passports, for immigration fraud or other criminal activity. Document fraud also includes efforts to obtain genuine identity documents through fraudulent means. These activities have helped illegal aliens, criminals and even terrorists evade detection and embed themselves in our society. Document fraud often supports the crime of benefit fraud.

The threat posed by document fraud is exemplified by the fact that at least seven of the 9/11 hijackers obtained genuine Virginia identity documents by submitting fraudulent Virginia residency certificates. Using these ID cards, the hijackers were able to clear airport security and board aircraft for the attacks.

Benefit fraud
This crime refers to the misrepresentation or omission of material facts on an application to obtain an immigration benefit one is not entitled to—such as U.S. citizenship, political asylum or a valid visa. Because these benefits give one the ability to freely enter, work or reside in this country, they are prized by illegal aliens, criminals, and terrorists who may be willing to pay substantial fees for them. As a result, the criminal organizations that help individuals fraudulently obtain immigration benefits reap enormous profits.

Benefit Fraud - the willful misrepresentation of material fact on a petition or application to gain an immigration benefit. Benefit fraud is an extremely lucrative form of white-collar crime that is complex and challenging to investigate, often involving sophisticated schemes and multiple co-conspirators that take years to investigate and prosecute. Benefit fraud has serious consequences, because the perpetrator gains an immigration benefit even though it was obtained fraudulently.

Identity fraud - also known as document fraud, is the manufacturing, counterfeiting, alteration, sale and/or use of identity documents and other fraudulent documents to circumvent immigration laws or for other criminal activity. Identity fraud does not itself confer lawful status upon the perpetrator. Identity fraud often underlies or supports the crime of benefit fraud. Identity fraud in some cases also involves identity theft, a crime in which an imposter takes on the identity of a real person (living or deceased) for some illegal purpose.

Office of Detention and Removal Operations Offices
Headquarters
Director, Office of Detention and Removal Operations
801 I St, NW
Suite 900
Washington, DC 20536
Phone: 202-305-2734

Field Offices
Field Office Director, Atlanta
77 Forsyth St., SW, Suite 117
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-331-2765
Area of Responsibility: Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina

Field Office Director, Baltimore
31 Hopkins Plaza, Suite 630
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-962-2037 or 2042
Area of Responsibility: Maryland

Field Office Director, Boston
John F. Kennedy, Federal Bldg.
Govt. Center, 17th Flr.
Room 1775
Boston, MA 02203
Phone: 617-565-3304
Area of Responsibility: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Field Office Director, Buffalo
130 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: 716-551-4741 ext. 2500
Area of Responsibility: Upstate New York

Field Office Director, Chicago
10 W. Congress, Suite 4000
Chicago, IL 60605
Phone: 312-347-2400
Area of Responsibility: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin

Field Office Director, Dallas
8101 N. Stemmons Frwy
Dallas, TX 75247
Phone: 214-905-5860
Area of Responsibility: North Texas, Oklahoma

Field Office Director, Denver
4730 Paris Street
Denver, CO 80239
Phone: 303-371-1067 or 5606
Area of Responsibility: Colorado, Wyoming

Field Office Director, Detroit
333 Mt. Elliott St.
Detroit, MI 48207
Phone: 313-568-6049 ext. 4079
Area of Responsibility: Michigan, Ohio

Field Office Director, El Paso
1545 Hawkins Blvd
El Paso, TX 79925
Phone: 915-225-0888
Area of Responsibility: Southwest Texas, New Mexico

Field Office Director, Houston
126 Northpoint Drive
Houston, TX 77060
Phone: 281-774-4968
Area of Responsibility: Southeast Texas

Field Office Director, Los Angeles
300 North Los Angeles St., Room 7631A
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 213-830-7911
Area of Responsibility: Central California

Field Office Director, Miami
7880 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33138
Phone: 305-762-3622
Area of Responsibility: Florida, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands

Field Office Director, Newark
Hemisphere Building, Suite 512
Routes 1 and 9 South
Newark, NJ 07114
Phone: 973-645-3666
Area of Responsibility: New Jersey

Field Office Director, New Orleans
DHS/ICE 1250 Poydras Suite 325
New Orleans, LA 70113
Phone: 504-599-7947
Area of Responsibility: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee

Field Office Director, New York
26 Federal Plaza, Rm. 1104
New York, NY 10278
Phone: 212-264-5085
Area of Responsibility: The five boroughs (counties of NYC) and the following counties:
Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk

Field Office Director, Philadelphia
1600 Callowhill St., 5th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: Phone: 215-656-7164
Area of Responsibility: Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia

Field Office Director, Phoenix
2035 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone: 602-379-3426
Area of Responsibility: Arizona

Field Office Director, Salt Lake City
5272 S. College Drive
Suite 100
Salt Lake City, UT 84123
Phone: 801-313-4260
Area of Responsibility: Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada

Field Office Director, San Antonio
8940 Fourwinds Drive
San Antonio, TX 78239
Phone: 210-967-7055
Area of Responsibility: Central South Texas

Field Office Director, San Diego
880 Front Street, #2232
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-557-6117
Area of Responsibility: Southern California

Field Office Director, San Francisco
630 Sansome Street, Rm 590
San Francisco, CA 94111
Phone: 415-844-5512
Area of Responsibility: Northern California, Hawaii, Guam

Field Office Director, Seattle
12500 Tukwila International Blvd., 4th Floor
Seattle, WA 98168
Phone: 206-835-0650
Area of Responsibility: Alaska, Oregon, Washington

Field Office Director, St. Paul
2901 Metro Dr., Suite 100
Bloomington, MN 55425
Phone: 952-853-2550
Area of Responsibility: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Field Office Director, Washington
2675 Prosperity Avenue
Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: 703-285-6200
Area of Responsibility: District of Columbia and Virginia