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Back in the day, ICE actually tried to enforce immigration laws. Then, they were a little too aggressive and it blew up in their face. In 2015, the feds set up a sting operation “with the aim of exposing student visa fraud.” The University of Farmington was a fake created by Immigration and Customs Enforcement but they charged real tuition. Students who enrolled are suing Uncle Sam to get their money back.
ICE operation in trouble
As reported by The Hill on July 5, last week, the appeals court ruled that “students who enrolled in a fake university” set up by ICE to run a sting operation “can sue the federal government” for damages.
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals “reversed a lower court decision that dismissed a complaint against the U.S. by an Indian student named Ravi Teja Tiyagurra.”
“The University of Farmington was created by ICE in 2015 in Michigan with the aim of exposing student visa fraud.”
ICE initiated a "sting" operation by creating the fake University of Farmington in Michigan, provided no classes or instruction, and refused to refund student tuition. Students are now proceeding forward in their lawsuit.https://t.co/di8CVl7hCE
— jmorrash1 (@jmorrash1) July 4, 2024
Nobody knew it wasn’t a real college until after eight people were indicted.
When the feds filed charges in 2019 for visa fraud and “harboring aliens for profit,” the operation was revealed to the public for the first time.
As the appeals court mentioned in their ruling, “Ravi said in his 2021 complaint that he was unaware the apparent university was not a real school and paid thousands of dollars to enroll as a student.”
Never got his money back
ICE didn’t have him pegged for visa fraud. His lawyer argues that Ravi had “entered into a contract” with the University of Farmington “for education services.”
The university “had breached that contract, and the contract’s implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.”
According to the three judge panel, “the government’s operation eventually came to light, but the government neither provided the paid-for education nor gave Mr. Ravi his money back.” That wasn’t nice.
Immigrant students are taking the fake ICE college to court that was selling student visas. The fictional University of Farmington, part of an undercover operation, came to light publicly in 2019 when eight people were indicted in Michigan on counts of visa fraud and “harboring… pic.twitter.com/US4toM90BT
— 🇺🇲Salty Texan (@texan_maga) July 4, 2024
“The University of Farmington students and their legal team are ecstatic that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled to allow the 600 students unjustly targeted by this fake ICE university to have their day in court,” attorney Anna Nathanson relates.
Student Prudhivi Raj also issued a statement after the ruling. “This decision is not just a legal win, but a moral one.” ICE needs to cough up their cash, quick.
“It underscores,” he notes, “that no one, not even the government, is above the fundamental principles of fairness and honesty. We are grateful for this outcome and remain steadfast in our commitment to justice.“
