Bombshell ICE sweep in Minneapolis-St. Paul finds 50% of immigrants had committed immigration fraud after massive arrival uptick from Somalia

Nearly half of all immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Twin Cities were found to have committed some form of immigration fraud during a recent sweep by immigration authorities, officials revealed Tuesday.

“Officers encountered blatant marriage fraud, visa overstay, people claiming to work as businesses that can’t be found, forged documents, abuse of the H1B visa system, abuse of the F1 visa, and many other discrepancies,” US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Joseph B. Edlow told reporters Tuesday.

Officials didn’t point to a specific group, but the Twin Cities has seen a massive uptick in Somali refugees and immigrants in recent years — with more than 82,000 from the East African country living in Minnesota.

USCIS visited 1,000 homes across Minneapolis and St. Paul in the last two weeks and found “nearly 50%” of inhabitants were engaged in some form of immigration fraud.

“Our officers found indication of fraud, non-compliance or public safety and national security concerns,” Edlow said. “What they found should shock all of America.”

The operation – dubbed Twin Shield, and carried out with the help of ICE – began on Sept. 13 and concluded this week, with Edlow calling it a “success” that could soon be repeated in cities across the country.

The Twin Cities were chosen because the “data” showed it as a hotspot for “manipulation and misuse of the immigration system,” officials said.