Immigration Agent Arrests Corrections Officer Over Fraudulent Asylum Claim

Federal authorities announced on Sunday that immigration agents have detained a suspected undocumented immigrant who entered the U.S. on a questionable asylum application and later secured a job as a corrections officer in Portland, Indiana.

The individual, identified as Sera Dine Habib from Mauritania, was arrested on May 21 after reportedly being allowed into the country by the Biden administration in 2023, as per the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

DHS stated that Habib had claimed to be gay in his pending asylum case; however, it later emerged that he married a woman after arriving in the United States.

Local media outlet WIBC, the first to report the story, mentioned that the woman is the daughter of the county sheriff, whose office subsequently employed Habib as a corrections officer at the county jail.

DHS revealed that Habib illegally crossed into the country near Lukeville, Arizona, in March 2023 and was brought in under the Biden administration. He is now in ICE custody as his release process is underway.

Officials emphasized that Habib’s asylum claim is viewed as fraudulent since he applied based on his sexual orientation in 2023 but tied the knot with a woman in 2025.

After marrying the sheriff’s daughter in 2025, Habib began working at the Jay County Jail, officially becoming the sheriff’s son-in-law, WIBC reported.

Jay County Sheriff Larry Ray Newton confirmed that Habib was hired as an unarmed corrections officer after he presented employment documentation and passed the federal E-Verify employment authorization check during the hiring process, as reported by WIBC.

The Jay County Auditor’s Office stated that Habib submitted an I-9 form with his documentation and met E-Verify requirements at the time of his employment, with the report showing approval.

The department explained that background checks and drug tests are standard procedure before new hires can work with them, and sheriffs are responsible for adhering to these practices.

Officials also noted that if the E-Verify system had flagged any discrepancies, the onboarding process would have been halted immediately.

DHS remarked that, under the Trump administration, efforts are underway to restore law and order, asserting that undocumented individuals should not hold positions in law enforcement.

Currently, Habib is being held at the Clay County Jail Detention Center in Brazil, Indiana, and he is reportedly appealing his final deportation order.