ICE has now arrested 250 foreign students who enrolled in its fake university


A controversial sting operation involving a fake university has resulted in dozens of arrests in recent months.
Set up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expose student visa fraud, the phony Michigan college has resulted in about 90 more arrests in recent months, bringing the total up to 250, The Detroit Free Press reports.
Those arrested are all foreign students — many of them from India — who were enticed by federal agents to attend the University of Farmington for graduate programs in technology and computer studies. The problem was the school turned out to be a fake one staffed by agents posing as university officials.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The students arrived legally in the U.S. on student visas, but they lost their immigration status when the university was closed in January. Most of the students were reportedly granted voluntary departures and have left the U.S., while some have received a final order of removal, and others reportedly "have either filed for some sort of relief or are contesting their removals with Executive Office for Immigration Review."
The students' attorneys have argued the operation was entrapment because the DHS listed the university as legitimate on its website, as did an accreditation agency that was working with the government. Rahul Reddy, a Texas attorney who represented some of the students, told the Free Press that the U.S. "preyed upon" the "vulnerable" students.
ICE and the Justice Department, however, laid the blame on the students, arguing they should have known a university with no physical location for classes was illegitimate. "If it were truly about obtaining an education, the university would not have been able to attract anyone," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Helms wrote in a sentencing memo for one of the university's recruiters. Read more at The Detroit Free Press.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
How will the next pope change the Catholic Church?
Talking Points Conclaves can be unpredictable
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Conspiracy theorists circle again following RFK file release
The Explainer Both RFK and his brother, President John F. Kennedy, have been the subjects of conspiracies
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
7 equestrian activities for when you feel like horsin' around
The Week Recommends These graceful animals make any experience better
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverage
Speed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion charges
Speed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threat
Speed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Leonard Peltier released from prison
Speed Read The Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents had his life sentence commuted by former President Joe Biden
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years
Speed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Police ID driver of exploded Cybertruck, can't see motive
Speed Read An Army Green Beret detonated a homemade bomb in a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US