Prof. Ana Pottratz Acosta Interviewed by WCCO News About Local Immigration Fraud Crackdown

Professor Ana Pottratz Acosta, visiting assistant professor and director of the Immigration & Human Rights Clinic of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, was interviewed by WCCO News about federal officials targeting immigration fraud over a 10-day period in the Twin Cities area. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials examined 1,000 local cases and found alleged fraud and noncompliance in 275 cases. Of those, 42 cases were referred to ICE and four immigrants were taken into custody. Prof Pottratz Acosta said immigration fraud does happen, but it’s rare, and this is shown in the numbers released by federal officials. She said, “There were 275 cases where there was some sort of flag raised during those investigations, but only 42 cases out of approximately 900 or 1,000 where they commenced deportation or removal proceedings, and only four of them were arrested. So if you look at the actual numbers, 42 cases out of 900 or 1,000, that's less than 5%. And four cases out of 1,000, that’s like half a percent, so it’s a very small number and they’re completely blowing it out of proportion." Watch the interview.