Federal authorities announced today they have completed Operation Twin Shield, the first wave of a new crackdown on immigration fraud in Minnesota.
In a press briefing, Director Joseph B. Edlow of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the immigration enforcement effort investigated more than 1,000 cases and its findings “should shock all of America.”
Operation Twin Shield began on Sept. 19 and involved federal authorities conducting site visits across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. The operation was coordinated by USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the FBI.
“Our officers encountered blatant marriage fraud, visa overstays, people claiming to work at businesses that can’t be found, forged documents, abuse of the H1-B visa system, abuse of the F-1 visas, and many other discrepancies,” said Edlow.
According to Edlow, authorities found indications of fraud, noncompliance, or public safety concerns in 275 cases.
“In one case officers identified an alien who had overstayed his visa waiver, who was the son of a known or suspected terrorist on the no-fly list,” said Edlow. “He had previously been found to have engaged in marriage fraud which resulted in the denial of several immigration benefit requests.”
Edlow said that alien was arrested and is now being sent back to his country of origin.
“In another, an individual admitted to obtaining a fake death certificate in Kenya for just $100 to prove he was no longer married,” said Edlow. “In reality, his wife is alive, living here in Minneapolis, and is the mother of five of his children. And incidentally, he has another wife living in Sweden with whom he has an additional three children.”
During his remarks, Edlow said immigration fraud damages America’s national security and will be uncovered. The USCIS director also noted that information gleaned from Operation Twin Shields will be used to determine next steps in the fight against immigration fraud.
“As we work to undo the neglect of the Biden Administration, we will continue to launch operations like this across the country,” said Edlow. “Operation Twin Shield was a major enforcement operation and we will be bringing many more efforts like this to cities across the country.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
