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Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025

Did federal officials find 50% of Twin Cities immigrants committed fraud?

Nikita Vashisth, MinnPost
no

While a recent federal operation did uncover cases of suspected immigration fraud in the Twin Cities, it did not show that 50% of immigrants in the area committed fraud. 

In September 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in coordination with the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted “Operation Twin Shield,” targeting more than 1,000 cases for fraud and signs indicating ineligibility. The investigation found 275 cases of “fraud, non-compliance, or public safety or national security concerns,” which narrowed to 42 case referrals to ICE and four arrests. 

So, 27.5% of the targeted cases had potential fraud, not 50% of all immigrants in the Twin Cities. There are about 380,000 foreign-born residents in the seven-county Twin Cities metro.  

Sahan Journal reported the operation coincided with immigration officials questioning University of Minnesota international students the same month. 

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