An illegal immigrant suspected of making a fraudulent asylum claim has become a law enforcement officer
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INTERMEDIATE: Federal officials revealed on Fox News Digital on Sunday that immigration agents arrested a suspected illegal immigrant who entered the United States under a “false” asylum claim before being hired as a taxpayer-funded corrections officer in Portland, Indiana.
The prisoner, identified as Selah Dine Habib, a native of Mauritania in northwest Africa, was arrested on May 21 after being released to the US by the Biden administration in 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Habib claimed to be gay in his pending asylum application, DHS said, adding that investigators later discovered he was married to a woman after entering the country.
According to local station WIBC, which first reported the case, the woman was the daughter of the county sheriff whose office hired Habib as a corrections officer at the county jail.
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Undocumented immigrant Selah Dine Habib has reportedly joined the Jay County Sheriff’s Department Jail as a correctional officer in Indiana. (Google Maps)
“He entered the country illegally in March 2023 near Lukeville, Arizona, and was RELEASED from the country by the Biden administration where he was allegedly employed as a corrections officer in Indiana,” DHS said. “He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”
“His pending asylum application is believed to be fraudulent, as he applied on the basis of homosexuality in 2023 but married a woman in 2025,” officials said.
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According to WIBC, Habib joined the Jay County Jail as a correctional officer after marrying the sheriff’s daughter in 2025, making him the sheriff’s son-in-law.
Jay County Sheriff Larry Ray Newton confirmed Habib’s employment at the facility, saying he served as an unarmed corrections officer after presenting employment documents that cleared the hiring process. According to district officials cited by WIBC, Habib also passed an E-Verify employment authorization check during the boarding process.
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“I can confirm that Mr. Habib submitted an I-9 with documentation, and an E-Verify Check was completed at the time of employment,” the Jay County Auditor’s Office said in a statement. “The report came back as the employment was approved.”
“Departments are responsible for completing any checks, background checks, drug tests, etc. before sending new employees to the office. The sheriff will be able to speak to the general procedures completed in his office,” the office said.
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The Office of the Auditor General added that any discrepancy flagged by the E-Verify system would have stopped the registration process immediately.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin ICE is restoring law and order. Illegal aliens have NO PLACE in our communities, especially in law enforcement,” DHS said.
Habib is currently being held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Clay County Jail in Brazil, Indiana, WIBC said.
He is currently contesting a final deportation order from the United States, WIBC added, citing sources.
