Students Who Paid to Enroll in ICE’s Fake University May Sue for Refund, Court Rules

The Department of Homeland Security flag flies at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Washington on June 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Hundreds of foreign nationals who enrolled in a fake university created by federal immigration agents as part of a sting operation may sue to recover the funds, a federal court ruled June 25.

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revives a class action lawsuit centered around “the University of Farmington,” a fictitious institution that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) set up in Detroit nearly a decade ago in an effort to catch those seeking to abuse the student visa system.

Farmington specifically targeted foreign nationals who had lingered in the United States through so-called “visa mills,” or schools profiting by enrolling those who just want to remain in the country and work with little, if any, intention of studying.

According to ICE, Farmington had no professors and offered no actual courses, meaning that its students were only using the program as a way to stay in the country.

The Farmington operation started in 2015 under the Obama administration. By the time the Trump administration closed the operation in 2019, it had lured in more than 600 mostly Indian students, of which 130 were arrested, including eight brokers accused of directing students to the fake university for payments. Most of those arrested in connection with Farmington had been deported to India.

One of the Farmington students, Teja Ravi, fled back to India before federal agents could potentially arrest him. In September 2020, he filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and other similarly situated enrollees against the U.S. government, in hopes of getting their money back.

According to his complaint, Mr. Ravi paid Farmington $12,500 in tuition for a master’s program in information technology. He alleged that ICE agents, posing as university administrators, promised that he would receive a course schedule and be able to take courses, but those promises never materialized.

Seeking a refund, Mr. Ravi argued that he had entered into a contract with Farmington—which he did not realize was a government front—for educational services when the university admitted him and he the paid tuition it asked for. On that basis, he asserted that he deserves compensation because the government had failed to provide the services and thus breached that contract.

Previously Dismissed

In March 2022, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims dismissed the suit on the ground it lacks jurisdiction. Specifically, the Claims Court said the government was only pretending to be a provider of educational services in order to further its undercover law enforcement, and that the alleged contract did not actually subject the government to damages in the event of breach.

The June 25 ruling overturned the 2022 decision. Writing for the panel, Circuit Judge Richard Taranto declared that ICE did engage in commercial activity by offering educational services, making the lawsuit a contract dispute fitting for the Claims Court’s judgment.

“The government took Mr. Ravi’s money in exchange for promising to deliver education services, and that transaction is one in which private universities engage,” wrote Judge Taranto, who was joined by Judges Alan Lourie and Alvin Schall.

In the opinion, the judges also highlighted the government’s past effort to advertise Farmington as a real university.

“The University of Farmington presented itself to prospective and enrolled students as if it were a genuine university,” they noted. “It had a physical presence in Farmington Hills, Michigan, had a web presence that included a professional website and active social media accounts, and engaged in direct communication with prospective and enrolled students via postal and electronic mail.”

More importantly, the judges said, Farmington claimed that it had all the appropriate state and national accreditations. It even had a place on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s list of certified schools.

“The government engaged in the sale of services such as private parties could also engage in among themselves,” they concluded.

Farmington is not the only sting operation aimed to crackdown on so-called “pay-to-stay” school scheme. A similar tactic was employed in an investigation spanning from 2013 to 2016, which concluded with the arrest of 21 individuals on charges of helping hundreds of Chinese and Indian nationals enroll in the University of Northern New Jersey (UNNJ), a fake university with no classes or professors.

In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit revived a lawsuit filed on behalf of over 500 former UNNJ enrollees whose visa statuses in the federal database of international students had been terminated. That case was settled in 2022 under undisclosed terms.