Tag: immigration

Top immigration official warns naturalization fraudsters could be stripped of citizenship

After a joint operation by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) found “mass patterns” of marriage and other immigration fraud in Minneapolis, the agency’s director says denaturalization and prosecutions are on the table. 

Operation Twin Shield, which was conducted by USCIS in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, flagged over 1,000 cases suspected of involving “fraud or ineligibility indicators,” the agency shared in an after-action announcement. 

The agency reviewed applications for immigration benefits, including marriage and family-based petitions, employment authorizations, and certain parole-related requests, the agency said. Of the cases reviewed, the agency found “evidence of fraud, non-compliance, or public safety or national security concerns” in 275 cases.

Widespread fraud in immigration landscape

“So we went, and our plan was to start getting some resources together to go after marriage fraud. What we did over the course of about two weeks—it was a joint operation with us and ICE, CBP, DEA, FBI, all were involved—we were able to find mass patterns of not only marriage fraud, naturalization fraud, we found fraud within the OPT, the optional practical training process, [and] we found it within H-1Bs,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow told the “Just the News, No Noise“ TV show. 

“Now we’re taking all that information back. We’re going through it, seeing what applications need to be reopened, what benefits need to be denied. And I’m working with the US Attorney out there to start sending a couple cases for prosecution, hopefully, many cases for prosecution,” Edlow added. 

The director said that a denaturalization process is possible for certain cases if they meet the criteria. 

“[We] do have processes both for civil and criminal denaturalization. It’s something that’s on the books, so we can do it. There are some criteria that have to be met in terms of what was the fraud? Was the fraud part of their scheme to ultimately get naturalization? Was it committed before or after they got naturalization? So there’s a lot of different factors that play a role here,” said Edlow. 

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Migrants Taking £10 Billion Per Year in Direct Welfare Benefits in Britain: Report

The British taxpayer is funding over £10 billion in direct welfare subsidies to migrants, who now account for one in six pounds sterling spent on universal credit, a report has found.

According to internal government data seen by London’s Daily Telegraph, £10.1 billion of the annual £61.2 billion spent on the universal credit scheme for those out of work, on low incomes, or those struggling with living costs was paid to foreigners living in Britain last year.

The figures, released under Freedom of Information Act requests, mean that one sixth of all direct welfare spending was given to foreigners or 16.5 per cent of the Universal Credit budget.

According to the broadsheet, this represented a significant increase over previous years, with £6.3 billion being spent on foreigners in 2022 and £7.9 billion in 2023.

The actual cost of the mass migration agenda is not even fully demonstrated by the figures; however, given that the data set does not include migrants who have been awarded citizenship, or indeed second-generation migrants.

The Universal Credit scheme also represents only one avenue through which foreigners can benefit from state subsidies, with the money spent on education and healthcare for migrants being counted separately.

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Taliban Sells £40 Fake Death Threats for Asylum Seekers to UK

Fake death threat letters produced by the Taliban are being used to dupe the Home Office in asylum applications for Afghan migrants. The Telegraph has the story.

A Telegraph investigation can reveal how corrupt officials in Afghanistan produce government letters threatening to kill asylum seekers. The letters are then used as evidence in asylum applications.

To demonstrate how easily such documents can be obtained, an undercover Telegraph reporter paid Taliban officials £40 to produce three fake letters from different regional offices on official headed paper, signed by local administrators.

The letters can be published in full, but have been redacted to protect sources.

They include warnings that the Taliban will “deliver justice upon you” — shorthand for execution — for co-operating with the “evil government of England”.

One letter says: “The mujahideen monitor all your activity on social media and will deliver justice when they see you. God will be pleased and you will be freed from this shameful life.”

The practice of purchasing fake letters raises fresh questions about the integrity of the asylum system and whether genuine refugees are being disadvantaged by forgeries.

Multiple migrants housed in Home Office hotels and Taliban officials in Afghanistan told the Telegraph that the use of fake letters is widespread.

In one case, a rejected asylum seeker said they submitted a fake letter in an appeal as evidence of facing danger in Afghanistan.

The new application was then approved, although it is not clear if the letter was the only piece of evidence that judges took into account.

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First-cousin marriage linked to terrorist financing, money laundering and people trafficking, experts warn

The storm over first-cousin marriage deepened last night after experts linked it to terrorist financing, money laundering and people trafficking.

Tories called for the marriages to be banned after The Mail on Sunday revealed last month that NHS guidance promotes their ‘benefits’ despite an associated increase in birth defects.

The marriages are also connected to unregulated, untraceable ‘hawala’ financing – a way of transferring money worldwide that depends on family ties and doesn’t leave a paper trace.

To make a transfer using hawala, someone deposits cash in one country with a password. 

The same amount can be withdrawn abroad using the password via a trusted middleman in both countries. It does not require physical movement of cash.

The National Crime Agency says risks of money laundering and terror financing under this system are high.

It says Hezbollah has received billions through the system and Isis depends on it.

British funds have reached terrorist cells in Somalia and Syria, adds the crime agency.

Government investigators believe hawala is being used to launder at least £2billion every year in the UK. 

Academic Dr Patrick Nash says because cousin marriages are typically made with foreign relatives, they are more likely to import hawala to the UK, as well as needing to transfer money abroad to family.

He says: ‘Labour must act swiftly to ban cousin marriage and hawala or be complicit in terrorist atrocities.’

Since being cut off from financial markets by the US, Iran has become adept at using hawala to transfer British funds to prop up terrorist regimes in the Middle East.

The National Crime Agency has also found that hundreds of millions of pounds a year is being channelled through hawala to smuggle migrants and potential terrorists into Britain.

Documents have been unearthed showing Government ministers, tax authorities and law enforcement officials promoting the hawala network.

In one case they show how families can use hawala to pay people-smugglers to help to cross the Channel.

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Record number of children in England are abused because parents think they are witches or possessed by black magic

The number of children in England suspected of being abused because of witchcraft, sorcery and black magic beliefs has surged to its highest level on record, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Official figures show 2,180 children were identified as potential victims of abuse linked to faith or belief last year- a rise from 2,140 in 2023 and 1,960 in 2022.

The disturbing figure represents a 49 per cent increase on 2017, when 1,460 suspected victims were identified by social services.

Experts believe the true figure could be even higher due to under-reporting and a fear that officials are too afraid of intervening for fear of offending religious beliefs.

Megan Manson, of the National Secular Society, said: ‘It is alarming that thousands of children in England are suffering abuse relating to religion or belief – and that these numbers are increasing.

‘We know that fear of criticising religious or cultural beliefs can impede tackling these serious forms of abuse.

‘Authorities must ensure that the safety and wellbeing of children are always prioritised above any reluctance to criticise religion or culture.’

Abuse cases linked to faith or belief have seen children accused of harbouring demons subjected to exorcisms and ritualistic ‘cleasings’ to ‘deliver’ evil.

Others have been harmed because relatives believe their actions have brought bad luck – such as dialling a wrong number and supposedly allowing malevolent spirits to enter the home.

Among the most notorious cases was eight-year-old Victoria Climbié, tortured to death in 2000 by relatives who believed she was possessed.

She had been sent to England by her parents who hoped she would gain a better education than in her native Ivory Coast.

Instead she was starved, tortured, beaten with bike chains and kept prisoner in a freezing bathroom by her great-aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her partner Carl Manning.

When she finally died of hypothermia and multiple organ failure in a squalid flat in Haringey, east London, she was discovered with 128 separate injuries on her body.

Kouao and Manning claimed they believed Victoria, who died weighing just 3st 10lb, was possessed by evil spirits, before being jailed for life in 2001.

In 2002, former bus driver Manning apologised to Victoria’s parents for his part in her ‘sickening’ death. He last month lost a bid to be released on parole.

A decade later, 15-year-old Kristy Bamu was beaten and drowned on Christmas Day 2010 by his sister and her boyfriend in east London after being accused of being a witch.

Over four days, Kristy was subjected to torture with knives, sticks, metal bars, a hammer and pliers.

He was forced to pray for ‘deliverance’ and denied food and water. His siblings were also beaten alongside him but escaped further attacks after ‘confessing’ to being witches.

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Arkansas AG Busts Three Non-Citizens for Illegal Voting, Vows to Protect Election Integrity

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has announced the arrests of three non-citizens accused of illegally casting votes in recent elections.

The probe began earlier this year when federal officials alerted Griffin’s office to discrepancies between the voters’ records and their citizenship status.

Working alongside Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, investigators identified three individuals who had illegally voted.

All three women face felony charges for violating Arkansas election laws, with two also charged with perjury for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on voter registration forms.

Cecilia Castellanos, 59, of Rogers, was arrested and charged with one count of perjury (a Class C felony) and one Class D felony count for violating Arkansas’s election laws.

Castellanos is a Cuban national with a pending order of removal from an immigration judge dating back to 1999 and has three prior felony convictions in New York state. She allegedly marked on her voter registration form that she was a U.S. citizen and had no prior felonies, then proceeded to vote illegally in the 2024 general election.

Zlata Risley, 50, of Hot Springs Village, faces one Class D felony count for violating Arkansas’s election laws. Originally from Kazakhstan, she is a lawful permanent resident but not a U.S. citizen. She is accused of voting illegally in the 2024 primary.

Chi Baum, 59, of Texarkana, was charged with one count of perjury (a Class C felony) and one Class D felony count for violating Arkansas’s election laws. From Nigeria, she holds conditional permanent resident status but is not a citizen.

Like Castellanos, Baum allegedly falsely claimed citizenship on her registration form and voted in the 2024 general election.

Attorney General Griffin emphasized the state’s commitment to election security in a statement, writing, “Arkansas’s elections are sound and secure, which is why we deal swiftly and decisively when rare infractions like these come to our attention. I am committed to preserving the integrity of our democratic process.”

Griffin credited his office’s Special Investigations Division’s Election Integrity Unit and local prosecuting attorneys for their work on the cases.

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Conservatives, NDP want to know if Liberals ‘lied’ about Irish bands entry ban

The immigration minister faces growing opposition pressure to clarify if Irish hip-hop group Kneecap is banned from Canada, following a since-dismissed UK terrorism charge.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the party’s immigration critic, urged Immigration Minister Lena Diab on Thursday to confirm whether the group is banned, after officials repeatedly refused to answer for almost two weeks.

This follows Conservative demands for a clear explanation from Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary for combating crime, who made the announcement but has not yet clarified his reasoning.

On September 19, Gasparro denied Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh entry over legal troubles abroad. It’s unclear if the ban still stands.

The band states it has not received official notice of an entry ban or visa denial, according to media reports.

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Immigration minister dodges on criminal checks for 100K new citizens

Canada’s Immigration Minister has sidestepped questions on whether over 100,000 potential new citizens, beneficiaries of Bill C-3, will undergo criminal record checks, take citizenship tests, or even be required to speak an official language.

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner accused the Liberal immigration minister, Lena Diab, of using “word salad” to get around Conservatives’ direct questions about the potential for fraud and security threats in Bill C-3, during a parliamentary immigration committee on Thursday.

The bill would amend the Citizenship Act to grant Canadian citizenship to individuals born abroad who are descendants of immigrants who became Canadian citizens. Without the bill, there is a first-generation limit, meaning those born in another country are only automatically citizens if one parent was born in Canada.

The Liberals introduced the bill following the Ontario Superior Court of Justice’s finding that the first-generation limits in the Citizenship Act violated Charter equality and mobility rights. The Liberal government did not appeal the decision, opting instead to expand citizenship criteria.

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Operation Twin Shield uncovers 275 cases of suspected immigration fraud in Minnesota, feds announce

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.”

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Foreign Countries Forget That They Have No Say in US Policies

President Trump recently delivered a scathing address at the United Nations, criticizing Europe for allowing unbridled immigration and warning it would lead to the continent’s destruction. He contrasted this with his own record, noting his policies had reduced illegal entries into the United States to about 5 percent of the level under Biden.

Trump was criticized in Europe and elsewhere for his immigration policies, even though they were clearly better for the US and despite data showing how immigration is destabilizing Europe. Many world leaders not only rejected Trump’s recommendations but also wanted him to reverse US immigration policies, reopen the borders, and allow 20 million illegal immigrants to remain in the country. Global reactions to his speech reflected the broader belief that foreign governments should have a say in American domestic policies such as immigration.

On the first day of his first administration, in January 2017, Trump withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade deal. He argued it was a bad agreement that would harm American workers while benefiting special interests.

Trump declared that his administration’s policy would be to prioritize the financial well-being of Americans in all negotiations and to create fair, economically beneficial agreements that served their interests. He emphasized his intention to negotiate directly with individual countries on a one-on-one basis rather than through large multilateral deals.

Critics around the world accused him of undermining global trade, but his decision effectively ended the TPP, which was largely scrapped after the U.S. withdrawal. During the campaign, Trump had been blunt, calling the TPP “another disaster done and pushed by special interests” and “a continuing rape of our country.”

Also, during his first term, Trump was sharply criticized for withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization. Opponents claimed the move would damage the WHO’s credibility and weaken compliance among member states.

Trump defended the decision by citing the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in Wuhan, its bias toward China, and its lack of independence from political pressure. He also argued the WHO demanded unfairly high payments from the US, while China, with a population more than four times larger, contributed nearly 90 percent less.

Similar criticism resurfaced in 2025 when RFK Jr. urged the US to reject new global health agreements, calling the WHO “moribund.” That May, 124 countries voted for the WHO Pandemic Accord, with only 11 abstentions, but RFK Jr. urged states to reject it. In September, he dismissed a UN declaration on non-communicable diseases, declaring the United States would “walk away” from the agreement.

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