Minneapolis, MN (MinnesotaNow) – Federal authorities are reporting the arrest of a correctional officer for the Minnesota Department of Corrections on immigration fraud allegations.
According to a news release from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 45-year-old Morris Brown was taken into custody last month in Minneapolis by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is described as an illegal immigrant from Liberia who was wanted for multiple violations of U.S. immigration law, including making false claims of U.S. citizenship.
Joined the National Guard
The federal agency says Brown entered the United States in 2014 on a non-immigrant student visa that was terminated the following year. Despite his lack of legal status in the U.S., officials say he joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2014 but went AWOL in 2015. The news release says he was later apprehended and discharged from the military under other-than-honorable conditions in 2022.
Green Card Denied
Immigration officials say Brown applied for a green card in 2020 under the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program, but his application was denied due to misrepresentations that included a false claim of U.S. citizenship. It is also alleged that he applied to naturalize as a U.S. citizen based on his prior military service.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services investigators reviewed his citizenship application as part of the federal government’s Operation Twin Shield enforcement campaign and indicated they found evidence of marriage fraud and prior instances in which Brown falsely claimed U.S. citizenship in official documents.
Hired by State of Minnesota
The news release says investigators also found that he was employed as a correctional officer for the State of Minnesota and was hired after claiming to be a citizen…