US authorities set up fake university to catch illegal migrants

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has reported 90 new arrests of foreign students from the University of Farmington in Michigan, which was actually created by the immigration service to capture illegal immigrants.

In 2015, service employees created the university’s website, it was officially registered in the list of educational institutions with permission to accept foreign students, and its head office was located in one of the buildings on the outskirts of Farmington Hills in Michigan.

Undercover federal agents were introduced by the school’s administration and lured foreign students, mainly from India and China, by offering them computer-based training programs.

The university offered tuition for about $ 12 thousand per year. In total, 600 people entered the University of Farmington. Some transferred from educational institutions that lost their accreditation, which meant for them an automatic loss of legal immigration status in the country.

The operation ended in January 2019. Since then, a total of about 250 arrests have been carried out. Most of those arrested had their visas canceled. Many of them were deported. About a dozen people who recruited students for money were sentenced to prison.

Student lawyers say the US authorities lured them dishonestly, as the Department of Homeland Security did not confirm that the university is working legally. An accreditation agency that participated in the operation of the US government also called the university legal.