Immigration

ICE launches nationwide operation targeting SNAP fraud by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have launched a nationwide operation targeting people living in the United States illegally who are accused of fraudulently collecting SNAP food-stamp benefits.

ICE confirmed the operation to Fox News and named its first five arrests: four Haitian nationals — Rubstony Junior Theodore, Wilbert Jean Baptiste, Louis Jean and Jhensly Charles — and one Cuban national, Elizabeth Povea Rodriguez, according to the agency's official release.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the programs "are for Americans only" and called the first arrests "just a drop in the bucket" of what he described as a sustained enforcement effort. Federal officials said Theodore's prior arrests include larceny, obstruction and trespassing.

Under federal law, immigrants living in the country illegally are already barred from receiving SNAP benefits, making fraudulent enrollment by noncitizens a matter of identity or eligibility fraud rather than program eligibility.

Sources: Fox News (Oct 21, 2026); ICE.gov official press release (Oct 22, 2026).

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