Federal officials announced the arrest of Selah Dine Habib, a suspected illegal immigrant from Mauritania, charged with entering the U.S. under a fraudulent asylum claim. He reportedly worked in Indiana as a taxpayer-funded corrections officer.
Habib was detained on May 21 after his release into the U.S. in 2023 by the Biden administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He allegedly sought asylum claiming homosexuality but later married a woman, which raised suspicions about the authenticity of his claim.
Local news outlet WIBC reported that Habib married the daughter of the county sheriff, Larry Ray Newton, under whose department he worked as a correctional officer. He joined the Jay County Sheriff Department Jail after providing employment documents that appeared valid.
Despite passing the federal E-Verify employment-authorization check, questions arose about his legal status. DHS noted that any discrepancies flagged by E-Verify would have stopped the hiring process.
Currently, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is holding Habib in Brazil, Indiana, while he contests a final deportation order. The situation underscores the challenges of immigration enforcement and employment verifications for illegal immigrants in the U.S.