ICE's Fake University Sting Operation Also Used A Bunch Of Fake Facebook Profiles

ICE's Fake University Sting Operation Also Used A Bunch Of Fake Facebook Profiles

5 years ago
Anonymous $9jpehmcKty

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190412/17061441996/ices-fake-university-sting-operation-also-used-bunch-fake-facebook-profiles.shtml

In an effort to boost bust numbers and further cement its reputation as the ugly embodiment of punitive xenophobia, ICE set up a fake university in Michigan to ensnare immigrants attempting to do something the law allows them to do: stay in the country while they earn a degree.

This wasn't just some online university with sketchy bonafides. This was a (bogus) university sporting a real campus and accreditation secured from a national accreditation service -- everything needed to start converting tuition fees into arrests and detentions. ICE took in $60,000 in application fees alone before it started rounding up people who, for the most part, were just trying to do something legal. Instead of being able to live and work in the US while they completed a degree, more than 160 duped students were taken into custody by ICE. So far, only eight are actually facing charges.