US confirms 145 Indians held in fake varsity case

HYDERABAD: The total number of Indian students arrested in the US-government run fake University of Farmington is 145, and not 129 as was known so far. This was confirmed by officials of the US Immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) department who also said that all these individuals “were in various stages of the removal process”.


In an e-mail interaction with TOI late on Tuesday night, ICE public affairs officer Carissa Cutrell said: “This number is from more than a week ago, so it might have increased slightly…arrests are ongoing.” According to ICE’s data, 146 students faced detention for enrolling with the phony university and except one — a Palestinian — rest all were Indians.

Regarding the detention term and period for which they would be barred from entering the US, Cutrell wrote: “Custody determinations are made on a case-by-case basis, evaluating all the circumstances of a person’s case,” adding, “All individuals arrested for civil immigration violations were issued a notice to appear in immigration court. The executive office for Immigration Review (EOIR), part of the department of justice, oversees immigration court.

"This is a separate entity from ICE/DHS (Department of Homeland Security). An immigration judge, part of EOIR, makes a determination in a person’s case and ICE effects the judge’s orders. Each individual is afforded due process in our nation’s immigration courts.”

Reiterating the reason for these arrests — and challenging the argument about it being a case of entrapment by US authorities — the official said that the students not only failed to “maintain non-immigrant status” as they were not enrolled “in a full course of study” but many of them also “participated in unauthorised curricular practical training (CPT)”.

“It is because that type of employment requires the student to be enrolled in a curriculum and also requires the employment to be directly related to that curriculum,” Cutrell wrote.

According to those following the case, many Farmington students while pursuing a master’s programme in a certain subject were engaged in work absolutely disconnected to their area of study, with some even doing odd jobs at restaurants, theatres, gas stations.

Buttressing the argument about these students knowingly committing the crime, the ICE official questioned how none of them came to the university directly from their home country. “They were already in the US and aware of the requirements to attend a school or university as a non-immigrant student. Individuals elected to enrol in the University of Farmington after learning there were no classes or curriculum; they abused the visa system in a manner that allowed them to work while not taking classes.”