Ex-MN Corrections Officer Accused Of Falsely Claiming To Be U.S. Citizen

A former Minnesota corrections officer is facing deportation after federal authorities accused him of immigration fraud and falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, 45-year-old Morris Brown of Liberia was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Jan. 15 in Minneapolis. Officials said his arrest was part of Operation Twin Shield, a major enforcement operation that targeted suspected immigration fraud in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area last fall.

Brown is accused of multiple violations of U.S. immigration law, including overstaying his student visa and making false claims to U.S. citizenship.

According to officials, Brown last entered the U.S. in 2014 on a non-immigrant student visa that was terminated in 2015 because he failed to enroll in a full course of study.

Despite not having legal status, officials said he joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2014 but went AWOL the following year. He was ultimately apprehended and discharged from the military in 2022.

Brown applied for a Green Card in 2020 under the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program, but officials said his application was denied due to misrepresentations, including his failure to disclose prior military service and his false claim to U.S. citizenship. In 2024, officials said he applied to naturalize as a U.S. citizen based on prior military service.

During Operation Twin Shield, officials said federal investigators looking into Brown’s application for citizenship found evidence of marriage fraud and instances where he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen in official documents. Officials said investigators also learned Brown was working as a corrections officer for the state of Minnesota by claiming to be a U.S. citizen.

Brown now faces removal proceedings and potential criminal prosecution.