Farmington University: As more than a hundred Indians rounded up in fake university sting

Some say the arrests directly feed into the narrative that immigration and H-1B debate is about fraud and immigrants not qualified to be in America are here.

It’s the kind of news that can potentially add to the rising negative rhetoric about immigration.

The revelation that hundreds of Indian students were involved in a fake university sting, set up by the Department of Homeland Security, was enough to shock and surprise to the Indian community in United States.

According to reports, the DHS set up a fake university in order to target foreign students who wanted to stay in the United States illegally. The fake institute, listed as University of Farmington, in Farmington Hills, Michigan, was “launched” in 2015. The university had a website, a list of programs, course description and fee structure, but no real classes.

Distressingly, hundreds of Indian students were found guilty of misusing the academic route to gain entry to the United States. Over a period of two years, since the “university” was set up, about 600 students, nearly all from India, enrolled with it, allegedly knowing fully well that they have no real classes to attend but are a part of what the authorities are calling a “pay to stay” scheme.

Of the 130 foreign “students” of Farmington that were arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), 129 were Indians nationals.