The FBI arrested two Pakistani immigration lawyers in Texas, exposing a smuggling network that imported Pakistani migrants via several forms of white-collar fraud.
The FBI investigation and the arrest follow promises by President Donald Trump’s deputies to separate investigations into white-collar mignation crime. The Justice Department reported:
Two Texas residents, Abdul Hadi Murshid, 39, and Muhammad Salman Nasir, 35, both originally from Pakistan, a law firm, and a business entity were charged by indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States, visa fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) conspiracy, announced Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. Murshid and Nasir were also charged with unlawfully obtaining and attempting to obtain United States citizenship.
The defendants face up to 20 years in prison.
The federal government allows a shifting population of roughly 1.5 million migrants in white-collar jobs throughout the United States. The workers arrive via multiple white-collar visa programs, such as the H-1B work visa and the EB programs for green card applicants.
These programs create myriad incentives and opportunities for graft, scams, and fraud in the legal migration system. For decades, the government has done little to find or reduce the fraud, despite the massive damage to Americans’ white-collar professionals, per-capita productivity, and national innovation.