U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has launched a nationwide operation targeting immigrants accused of fraud involving federal food assistance benefits, announcing the arrests of four Haitian nationals and one Cuban national as the Justice Department unveiled a separate crackdown on fraud involving nearly $45 million in alleged or proven intended losses.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the ICE operation this week, identifying five people arrested in connection with suspected abuse of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
Federal officials described the arrests as part of a broader effort to identify noncitizens suspected of obtaining benefits fraudulently. DHS did not disclose the total number of arrests nationwide or specify the alleged financial losses associated with the five individuals, The New York Post reports.
The operation comes as the Justice Department, the Department of Agriculture and USDA's Office of Inspector General announced enforcement actions involving more than 40 defendants across multiple federal jurisdictions.
According to a Justice Department statement, the cases involve nearly $45 million in alleged or proven intended losses connected to SNAP and other USDA programs. The actions include criminal charges and other enforcement measures targeting suspected benefit trafficking and fraudulent claims.
The Justice Department's cases were announced separately from the ICE operation, and officials have not established that the five immigrants identified by DHS are among those defendants.
The enforcement efforts come amid broader scrutiny of fraud affecting federal food assistance, including theft targeting people who legitimately receive benefits.
A ProPublica investigation published last week found that electronic theft from SNAP recipients reached an estimated $470 million in 2025, based on data from benefits technology company Propel. Criminals have used card-skimming devices to steal account information and drain recipients' benefits.
ProPublica also reported that confirmed intentional fraud by SNAP recipients accounted for approximately $64 million annually, according to federal data, although that figure measures a different category of wrongdoing than electronic theft.
The investigation examined concerns that the continued use of magnetic-stripe benefit cards, rather than more secure chip-enabled cards, leaves recipients vulnerable to theft.
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