Feds launch operation targeting Minnesota refugees for potential deportation amid fraud investigation

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WATCH LIVE: House committee holds hearing on Minnesota fraud allegations

Witnesses testify before the House Oversight Committee as it investigates allegations of fraud and misuse of federal funds in Minnesota.

EXCLUSIVE: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is deploying personnel on site in Minnesota to reexamine the legal refugee population, which includes Somalis, and search for cases, potentially leading to deportations. 

Operation Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening (PARRIS) was launched in mid-December to reexamine Minnesota’s roughly 5,600 refugees from countries of concern listed in President Donald Trump’s travel ban proclamations. 

"Minnesota is ground zero for the war on fraud. USCIS’ show of force in Minnesota demonstrates that USCIS will not stand idly by as the US immigration system is weaponized by those seeking to defraud the American people," USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told Fox News Digital. "American citizens first, always."

The 39 countries listed in the president’s travel ban include Somalia, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Sudan, Yemen, Iran and others.

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The deployment comes amid an intensified federal immigration enforcement push in Minnesota tied to alleged fraud and travel-ban-related policy changes, where USCIS will redo background checks and case reviews to determine if refugees’ status should be maintained or revoked. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

USCIS, which operates within the Department of Homeland Security, intends to redo background checks, reinterview refugees and verify the merits of each refugee claim to determine whether an individual should be referred to ICE. 

Should the agency identify a national security or public safety issue or find that a refugee has committed immigration fraud, deportation proceedings will be initiated.

On Wednesday, ICE said that agents were targeted by rioters in "an act of domestic violence" and that "an ICE officer, fearing for his life… fired defensive shots" that ultimately killed the perpetrator. 

"This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement, who are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats," a spokesperson from DHS said.

Sources at USCIS tell Fox News Digital that Operation PARRIS has been in the works for several months and that the agency uncovered rampant fraud in the Twin Cities during Operation Twin Shield, a large-scale investigation that focused on immigration fraud, last fall.

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The operation will continue until the agency has reviewed all targeted cases, and sources at USCIS also say that Operation PARRIS will expand beyond Minnesota. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem receives a briefing on the Minnesota day care fraud and related operations in Minneapolis. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)

The operation is in sync with a DHS surge in Minnesota as the state continues to be rocked by a widespread roughly $9 billion fraud scheme that resulted in 78 individuals being charged, many from the Somali community in Minnesota. 

ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a video posted to X on Tuesday that "the largest immigration operation ever" is underway in the state.

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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem also posted that "DHS has surged law enforcement to Minneapolis and has already arrested more than 1,500 crooks and creeps: murderers, rapists, pedophiles and gang members."

DHS faced opposition on the ground in the largely Democratic state, after a local, formerly Hilton-branded hotel allegedly denied ICE and immigration officials stay at their property. 

Minnesota locations accused of fraudulent claims were investigated by Fox News Digital, uncovering vacant lots and non-existent suites. (Nikolas Lanum/Andrew Mark Miller/Fox News Digital)

The agency posted several emails between the Hampton Inn Lakeville and agents who purchased rooms at the hotel, in which hotel operators stated they are "not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property."

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Hilton Hotels has since disbanded with the local venue, and the Trump administration took action against the Hampton Inn, revoking a General Services Administration contract that had the property on a list of approved lodging providers.

Sources at USCIS say there’s more to come with Operation PARRIS in Minnesota, despite the news surrounding the local hotel’s pushback. 

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston