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EXCLUSIVE: Federal officials on Sunday revealed to Fox News Digital that immigration agents arrested a suspected illegal immigrant who allegedly entered the United States under a “fraudulent” asylum claim before later becoming employed as a taxpayer-funded corrections officer in Portland, Indiana.
The detainee, identified as Selah Dine Habib, a native of Mauritania in northwest Africa, was arrested on May 21 after being released into the U.S. by the Biden administration around 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Habib claimed to be homosexual on a pending asylum application, DHS alleged, adding that investigators later discovered he had married a woman after entering the country.
According to local outlet WIBC, which first reported the case, the woman was the daughter of the county sheriff whose office later employed Habib as a correctional officer at the county jail.
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“He entered the country illegally in March 2023 near Lukeville, Arizona, and was RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration where he was reportedly hired as a corrections officer in Indiana,” DHS said. “He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
“His pending asylum application is believed to be fraudulent, as he applied based on 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 step-son-in-law.
Jay County Sheriff Larry Ray Newton confirmed Habib’s employment to the outlet, saying he served as an unarmed correctional officer after presenting employment authorization documents that cleared the hiring process. According to county officials cited by WIBC, Habib also passed the federal E-Verify employment-authorization check during onboarding.
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“I am able to 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 told the outlet. “The report came back as employment authorized.”
“Departments are responsible for completing any reference checks, background checks, drug tests, etc. before submitting new employees to the office. The sheriff would be able to speak to the standard practices completed in his office,” the office said.
The Auditor’s Office added that any discrepancies flagged by the E-Verify system would have halted the onboarding process immediately.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin ICE is restoring law and order. Illegal aliens have NO PLACE in our communities, especially in positions of law enforcement,” DHS said.
Habib is currently being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Clay County Jail detention facility in Brazil, Indiana, WIBC said.
He is currently contesting a final deportation order from the United States, WIBC added, citing sources.
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