A 45-year-old man who spent years working as a Minnesota state corrections officer is in federal custody this week after investigators discovered his entire American life was allegedly built on a mountain of lies. Morris Brown, a Liberian national, was arrested in Minneapolis following a deep-dive investigation into his immigration history that revealed a decade-long pattern of identity fraud and broken military promises.
The arrest is a major win for “Operation Twin Shield,” a joint enforcement effort by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that launched last fall to scrub the Twin Cities area for systemic fraud.
Brown’s case stood out not just for the length of his stay, but for the positions of trust he managed to occupy despite having no legal right to be in the country.
Records show Brown first arrived in the United States in 2014 on a student visa. However, that legal status vanished just a year later when he stopped attending classes. Instead of leaving, Brown allegedly began a game of cat-and-mouse with federal authorities.
He managed to join the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2014, but he went AWOL shortly after. It took the military until 2022 to track him down and hand him an “other than honorable” discharge.
Even with a marred military record and no visa, Brown didn’t keep a low profile. He successfully landed a job as a corrections officer for the State of Minnesota, a role that typically requires legal residency or citizenship. Federal agents say he secured the position by simply claiming to be a U.S. citizen on official employment documents.
While working in the prison system, Brown continued to poke the bear by applying for legal status through multiple channels. In 2020, he applied for a Green Card under a program for Liberian refugees, but USCIS sniffed out the deception when he failed to mention his military past.
Undeterred, he tried again in 2024, this time attempting to naturalize as a citizen based on the very military service he had abandoned years prior.
The house of cards finally collapsed during the Twin Shield sweep. Investigators digging into his latest application found a trail of marriage fraud and repeated false claims of citizenship.
“Operation Twin Shield continues to deliver results as the Department of Homeland Security relentlessly pursues those who seek to cheat our immigration system,” said USCIS Director Joseph Edlow. “This alien tried every trick in the book to remain in the United States after losing legal status. We will use every tool at our disposal to ensure he faces justice for his many violations of the law.”
Brown is now facing the dual threat of deportation and criminal prosecution for fraud and lying to the government. He remains in custody pending his next court appearance.
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