Feds arrest 15 foreign students for work-status fraud in ‘Operation OPTical Illusion’
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Federal immigration authorities have arrested 15 nonimmigrant students for alleged education-related fraud, authorities said Wednesday.
The arrests took place in a number of cities, including Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Boston, Houston and more, the federal authorities said. The 15 arrested allegedly claimed they worked for companies that did not exist.
“Nonimmigrant” status refers to foreign nationals who are in the United States on a temporary basis, generally for education or short-term work or business.
The arrests were part of a larger investigation into fraud related to the Optional Practical Training program, known as OPT, which allows nonimmigrant students to remain in the United States as they do vocational work related to their field of study. The investigation is called “Operation OPTical Illusion.”
The arrests were announced in a press conference in Pittsburgh held by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials provided no details on what schools the arrestees were affiliated with nor any details on who they are. The only identifying information provided about the 15 were their nationalities: 11 from India, two from Libya, one Senegal and one from Bangladesh.
The OPT program allows international students to get real-world experience in their field either while they are still in school or after they graduate. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provides work permits to those in the program.
Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli painted those who fraudulently use the OPT program as taking jobs away from Americans. A news release from ICE noted that the 15 nonimmigrants arrested had claimed employment for nonexistent companies.
“They can do any job at all,” he said of those in the program. “This is intended to be practical training. It’s intended to be vocational-like — an opportunity to get experience. If they are far afield from that field of study … they are not qualified for work permits (and) they are not qualified to stay here in the United States.”
Tony Pham, interim director of ICE, said his office must “strike a delicate balance between supporting and promoting legitimate academic opportunities for students while ensuring students and exchange visitor visas are not exploited by bad actors.”