Students at a fake university in Michigan founded by the immigration authorities (ICE) can sue
A federal court ruled that students who enrolled at a fake university set up by the U.S. immigration authorities have the right to sue the U.S. government.
A decision last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit means that the hundreds of students who paid tuition fees at the University of Farmington in Farmington Hills – created by undercover U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents – have a legal basis to continue pursuing their claims in court.
In 2020, lawyers on behalf of Teja Ravi and other students at the University of Farmington, which no longer exists after ICE shut it down in 2019 and arrested at least 250 of its students, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The lawsuit says the U.S. breached its contract with students by essentially stealing their tuition, about $11,000 per year per student. They are seeking their money back and additional punitive damages. However, the lawsuit was dismissed by the Claims Court in 2022 on technical grounds that the case lacked jurisdiction. Three appeals court judges overturned that decision on June 25 and sent the case back to the Claims Court.
“This decision is not only a legal victory, but also a moral one,” Prudhivi Raj, a student at the university, said in a statement on Friday. “It underscores that no one, not even the government, is above the basic principles of fairness and honesty. … We are grateful for this outcome and remain committed to justice.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not respond to an email from the Free Press this week seeking comment on the court ruling. ICE has previously said it is trying to combat visa fraud. Justice Department lawyers are representing the department in the case.
ICE began its undercover operation in 2015, setting up a fake office on Northwestern Highway near 13 Mile, with a website and admissions process like a regular university. The University of Farmington was even listed on ICE’s website as a U.S. government-approved college for students. It seemed real to the more than 600 students, most of whom were immigrants from India interested in studying engineering and science. Many students are able to live and work legally in the U.S. through university programs like the one touted by the University of Farmington. The students had entered the U.S. legally and had F-1 student visas when they enrolled. But the whole thing was an elaborate operation by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations to trick foreign-born students who were allegedly trying to “pay to stay” in the U.S.—a claim the students deny. ICE arrested hundreds of students, deported many of them, and others left the U.S. on their own.
“The U.S. government refuses to take responsibility for the parents who have separated from their children because of this, for the couples who have separated because of this, and for the financial burden on families,” said attorney Anna Nathanson, who represents the students and argued the case in court. “Justice is urgently needed.”
The records show that the Department of Homeland Security went to great lengths to deceive the students, their lawyers said. The fake university was founded in the state of Michigan in January 2016, according to Department of Licensing and Regulation records. The Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, which worked with the U.S. in its undercover operation, also listed the university as legitimate.
The Free Press had previously obtained emails and covert recordings from ICE that partially revealed how the operation was carried out.
Ravi said he paid $12,500 in tuition at the University of Farmington when he enrolled in March 2018. He and other students became suspicious when classes didn’t start and contacted the university to find out what was going on, but they received no help.
Ravi was “informed that he would have a regular schedule and regular classes,” the lawsuit states. “But he was never enrolled in any classes or given assignments. Once the semester began and he was still not enrolled in any classes, he contacted university officials to inquire about classes and assignments. A university official advised him not to worry about it because it was not a problem.”
University of Michigan: Federal authorities criticize UM for failing to investigate hatred on campus against Jews and Arabs
When Ravi heard the rumor that the university might be fake, “he was told by a university official that the rumor was not true,” the lawsuit states.
In their decision, the three judges noted that Ravi never got his money back and said: “The factual allegations that we accept as true for the purposes of this appeal are clear.”
The judges said Ravi “paid thousands of dollars to the University of Farmington to enroll as a student there, expecting to attend classes. When he enrolled, Mr. Ravi was unaware that the university was not a university at all, but had been created and promoted to provide educational services for money – although it did not actually provide them – as a covert operation by the … (DHS) to uncover student visa fraud. The government’s operation eventually came to light, but the government neither provided the paid education nor returned Mr. Ravi his money.”
The students said they had fallen into a trap, but ICE officials defended their actions.
Vance Callender, the former special agent who then headed ICE’s HSI Detroit office and was later placed on leave after agents raided his home in 2022, told the Free Press in 2019 that “as part of this undercover operation, HSI special agents made it abundantly clear in their interactions with prospective University of Farmington enrollees that the school offered no academic or vocational programs of any kind. The individuals who enrolled at the University of Farmington did so intentionally.”
A November 2019 Free Press report on additional student arrests sparked outrage against ICE from several elected officials, including then-U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), and U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly, Michigan).
“This is cruel and horrific,” Warren wrote on Twitter, now X, linking to the Free Press story. “These students simply dreamed of the quality higher education America can provide. ICE deceived them and lured them into a trap, only to deport them.”
In 2022, 40 civil rights and social justice groups signed a letter calling on the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to investigate how the department ran the University of Farmington and demanding redress for students.
Nathanson said the students were “wrongly targeted by this fake ICE university.”
She added that the court’s ruling last week has implications beyond this specific case and could set a precedent for cases in which the government assumes too much power in contracts with private parties.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: [email protected] or X @nwarikoo
Announcement of an eight-part HBO series “Green Lantern”
Alert level of several US military bases in Europe is raised to second highest level after “intelligence-related terrorist attacks or attacks on personnel or facilities are likely”
Stallions record victory over Albany Baseball Club – Daily Freeman
About The Author
