logo
Feds charge 3 current or former Louisiana police chiefs in an alleged visa fraud scheme

Feds charge 3 current or former Louisiana police chiefs in an alleged visa fraud scheme

Al Arabiya16-07-2025
Federal authorities said Wednesday that they charged three current or former Louisiana police chiefs with taking hundreds of bribes in exchange for filing false police reports that would allow noncitizens to seek a visa that allows certain crime victims to stay in the US. The false police reports would indicate that the immigrant was a victim of a crime that would qualify them to apply for a so-called U-visa, US Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook said at a news conference in Lafayette. He said the police officials were paid $5000 for each name they provided falsified reports for, and that there were hundreds of names. There had been an unusual concentration of armed robberies of people who were not from Louisiana, Van Hook said, noting that two other people were also charged in the alleged scheme. In fact, the armed robberies never took place, he said.
Earlier this month, a federal grand jury in Shreveport returned a 62-count indictment charging the five defendants with crimes including conspiracy to commit visa fraud, visa fraud, bribery, mail fraud, and money laundering, Van Hook said. Those charged are Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon, former Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea, Michael Freck Slaney, a marshal in Oakdale, and Chandrakant Lala Patel, an Oakdale businessman.
Getting a U-visa can give some crime victims and their families a pathway to US citizenship. About 10,000 people got them in the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, 2022, which was the most recent period for which the Homeland Security Department has published data. These special visas are specifically for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity based on a description of the program published by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. At least two of the police chiefs had been arrested as of the Wednesday morning news conference, authorities said. Lester Duhé, a spokesperson for the Louisiana attorney general's office, said that office was assisting federal agents with court-authorized activities when asked about its role in the case.
The current or former police chiefs are from small central Louisiana municipalities that are near each other. They're in a part of the state that is home to multiple immigration detention facilities. Although Louisiana doesn't share a border with a foreign country, there are nine ICE detention facilities in the state – holding nearly 7000 people. Local news outlets reported seeing ICE and FBI agents entering the homes of two of the chiefs. Van Hook and others said at the news conference that the arrests do not mean the indicted chiefs' departments are corrupt.
In 2021, the USCIS warned that the U-visa program was susceptible to fraud after an audit from the Office of Inspector General found that administrators hadn't addressed deficiencies in their process. The audit found that USCIS approved a handful of suspicious law enforcement signatures that were not cross-referenced with a database of authorized signatures, according to the OIG report. They were also not closely tracking fraud case outcomes, the total number of U-visas granted per year, and were not effectively managing the backlog, which led to crime victims waiting for nearly 10 years before receiving a U-visa.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump Suggests Fed May Be Ready to Lower Interest Rates
Trump Suggests Fed May Be Ready to Lower Interest Rates

Asharq Al-Awsat

time36 minutes ago

  • Asharq Al-Awsat

Trump Suggests Fed May Be Ready to Lower Interest Rates

President Donald Trump said on Friday he had a good meeting with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and got the impression that the head of the US central bank might be ready to lower interest rates. The two men met on Thursday when Trump made a rare visit to the US central bank to tour the ongoing renovation of two buildings at its headquarters in Washington. The White House has criticized the cost of the project, and the president and Powell sparred over the issue during the visit. Trump also took the opportunity to again publicly call on Powell to slash rates immediately. "We had a very good meeting ... I think we had a very good meeting on interest rates," the president told reporters on Friday. "He (Powell) said, 'Congratulations, the country is doing really well,' and I got that to mean that I think he's going to start recommending lower rates because of that conversation," Trump said. The Fed is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range at the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting next week. Powell has said the Fed should wait for more data before adjusting rates. The visibly tense exchange between Trump and Powell at the Fed's massive construction site on Thursday marked an escalation of White House pressure on the central bank as well as Trump's efforts to get Powell to lower rates. The US central bank said on Friday it was "grateful" for Trump's encouragement to complete the renovation of its buildings in Washington and that it "looked forward" to seeing the project through to completion. Trump, who called Powell a "numbskull" earlier this week for failing to heed the White House's demand for a large reduction in borrowing costs, also said on Thursday he did not intend to fire the Fed chief, as he has frequently suggested he would.

US states to get $608 million from FEMA to build migrant detention centers
US states to get $608 million from FEMA to build migrant detention centers

Arab News

time39 minutes ago

  • Arab News

US states to get $608 million from FEMA to build migrant detention centers

WASHINGTON: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing to send $608 million to states to construct immigrant detention centers as part of the Trump administration's push to expand capacity to hold migrants. FEMA is starting a 'detention support grant program' to cover the cost of states building temporary facilities, according to an agency announcement. States have until August 8 to apply for the funds, according to the post. The Trump administration has been encouraging states to build their own facilities to detain migrants. This program provides a way for the administration to help states pay for it. The funds will be distributed by FEMA in partnership with US Customs and Border Protection, according to the post. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said on Friday morning the state would apply for FEMA reimbursement to pay for its new immigrant detention center known as 'Alligator Alcatraz.' DHS officials said this summer the facility will cost an estimated $450 million annually. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said DHS will tap FEMA's $650-million shelter and services program to fund Florida's facility. Congress during the Biden administration directed DHS to distribute the money to state and local governments to cover the cost of sheltering migrants. Nonprofits were also eligible. The funding stream was separate from money Congress set aside for FEMA to cover disaster relief. 'Secretary Noem has been very clear that the funding for Alligator Alcatraz can be a blueprint for other states and local governments to assist with detention,' a FEMA spokesperson said. FEMA declined to answer a question from Reuters about whether other states would receive money for detention facilities.

White House seeks fines from other universities after Columbia deal
White House seeks fines from other universities after Columbia deal

Arab News

timean hour ago

  • Arab News

White House seeks fines from other universities after Columbia deal

WASHINGTON: The White House is seeking fines from several universities it says failed to stop antisemitism on campus, including Harvard University, in exchange for restoring federal funding, a Trump administration official said on Friday. The administration is in talks with several universities, including Cornell, Duke, Northwestern and Brown, the source said, confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration is close to striking deals with Northwestern and Brown and potentially Cornell. A deal with Harvard, the country's oldest and richest university, is a key target for the White House, the official added. The universities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump and his team have undertaken a broad campaign to leverage federal funding to force change at US universities, which the Republican president says are gripped by antisemitic and 'radical left' ideologies. Trump has targeted several universities since returning to office in January over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled college campuses last year. Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay more than $200 million to the US government in a settlement with the administration to resolve federal probes and have most of its suspended federal funding restored. The Trump administration has welcomed the Columbia deal, with officials believing the university set the standard on how to reach an agreement, the official said. Harvard has taken a different approach, suing the federal government in a bid to get suspended federal grants restored.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store