Between September 10 and 22, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) arrested eleven individuals accused of being in the country illegally and charged them with felony offenses related to document fraud and false claims of U.S. citizenship. The charges include Possession of Identification Document to Defraud the United States, Possession of Identification Document Produced Without Lawful Authority, and False Attestation for Employment Eligibility Verification.
According to authorities, each individual allegedly possessed and used counterfeit state identification cards or driver’s licenses, as well as counterfeit Social Security cards, to secure employment at businesses in Arizona. They are also accused of falsely attesting on Form I-9 that they were U.S. citizens or otherwise authorized to work in the country.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration, targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. The operation coordinates resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The investigation is being conducted by HSI’s Phoenix Field Office in Arizona. The USMS in Arizona, along with USMS and HSI personnel in the Western District of Tennessee, assisted with arrests. Prosecution is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Authorities emphasized that “a criminal complaint is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
Case numbers associated with these charges include: 25-01879MJ through 25-01888MJ, 25-05419MJ, and 25-08483MJ.
