Federal agents created a fake university to catch undocumented migrants

The Ministry of Homeland Security stated that opened a fake university in Michigan to identify foreign students who remained in the United States without prior authorization, according to federal charges opened to the public Wednesday.

Eight people were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and to host foreigners for profit.said Matthew Schneider, East Michigan Attorney Six of them were arrested in the Detroit metropolitan area, one in Florida and one in Virginia.

The complaint says that the defendants helped at least 600 "foreign nationals to stay illegally, to return and work in the United States" and actively recruited them to enroll in a fraudulent school as part of a "Remuneration for Stay" program. "

The charges were filed on January 15 and they opened to the public on Wednesday.

They claim that from February 2017 to January 2019, the accused "conspired with each other and with others to fraudulently allow hundreds of foreign citizens to stay illegally and work in the United States by actively seeking them to enroll in a private Detroit metropolitan university which, without the conspirators' knowledge, was managed by special agents of the Homeland Security Enquests (HSI), as part of a secret operation. "

The HSI is the Investigation Division of the Department of National Security.

"We are all aware that international students can be a valuable badet to our country, but as this case shows, the international student visa program can be exploited and misused", said the prosecutor Matthew Schneider in a statement.

The apocryphal university is located in Farmington Hills, in the suburbs of Detroit. His website has touted as an authentic university stating that "… the University of Farmington offers students around the world a unique educational experience …"

The university had a staff of undercover agents who worked for national security.

In order to study in the United States, candidates must obtain certain types of visas and acceptance of authorized universities. by the Ministry of National Security. After obtaining the F1 visa, the student must remain enrolled and active in the studies, otherwise he must leave the country within 60 days.

The accusations say that students who registered, "They knew they would not attend a real clbad or get a university degree."

The eight involved are accused of helping to enroll students in exchange for money, bribes and tuition credits as part of a "pay to stay" system.

An official from the United States Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) said that the students involved in this case had legally entered the United States to study at universitiesbut then they were transferred to Farmington University to work.

This one this is not the first time that the federal authorities are creating a fake university catch foreign students in the United States

The Department of Homeland Security never created the University of Northern New Jersey as part of a covert operation for young people who are enrolled there to work and study in the country, according to a report from New York Times in 2016.