The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun a nationwide operation targeting illegal immigrants accused of fraudulently collecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. DHS disclosed the operation to Fox News, along with news of the first arrests made under it.
Four Haitian nationals were taken into custody in the initial wave of arrests: Rubstony Junior Theodore, Wilbert Jean Baptiste, Louis Jean, and Jhensly Charles. According to DHS, Theodore’s prior arrests include larceny, obstruction of officers, and trespassing. The agency says all four entered the United States unlawfully and then accessed SNAP benefits fraudulently.
ICE described the arrests as just the start of a much larger effort. “These arrests mark the opening salvo in a sustained, large-scale ICE operation specifically targeting illegal aliens who have fraudulently accessed SNAP benefits that American taxpayers fund exclusively for U.S. citizens in need,” the agency said in a statement. “Every one of these individuals entered the country unlawfully, then proceeded to draw from a program designed to feed struggling American families, in some cases while carrying criminal records.”
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin made the administration’s position explicit in a statement to Fox News.
“Illegal aliens who have no right to be here in the first place are the last people who should be using SNAP benefits and other forms of welfare,” Mullin said. “These programs are for Americans only. Even non-violent illegal alien crime can still have devastating consequences when they’re defrauding the American taxpayer. The illegal alien fraudsters that we’ve already arrested and deported are just a drop in the bucket, and the Trump Administration is committed to going after all these thieves and bringing them to justice.”
Part of a Broader Anti-Fraud Push
The SNAP operation follows the administration’s rollout of a Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, which offers Americans financial rewards for reporting fraud in federal programs. That initiative includes a $25 million fund, advertised rewards of up to $30,000, and a potential commission tied to fraud uncovered, with tips submitted through America.gov/fraud.
The scale of federal fraud generally is substantial. The Government Accountability Office has estimated that fraud across federal programs costs taxpayers between $233 billion and $521 billion annually. That figure covers federal fraud broadly rather than SNAP specifically, but it underscores the financial stakes behind even targeted enforcement actions like this one.
DHS has drawn a distinction between legal and fraudulent benefit use. Some noncitizens remain legally eligible for SNAP, and benefits can be available to eligible U.S.-citizen children living in mixed-status households. The new ICE operation, according to DHS, is aimed specifically at individuals accused of obtaining benefits through fraud, not at those receiving assistance lawfully.
DHS has signaled that additional arrests are expected as the operation continues.
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