1. ICE Raids Tri-Valley University on January 19, 2011
Dozens of agents from Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement swarmed Tri-Valley University in Pleasanton, Calif., Wednesday, searching administrator offices and the home of University president Susan Su. Tri-Valley bills itself as a Christian University offering degree and non-degree programs.
Of course, with an ongoing federal investigation, mum's the word. One can presume given the identity of the players that immigration law violations are suspected. But it's not like ICE is going to flat out announce the object of their investigation at Tri-Valley.
What I am wondering as I read about Tri-Valley, is why aren't the grammar police raiding this place? Tri-Valley poses as an institution of higher education, a university... but even a cursory look at its website suggests that a startling lack of functional literacy pervades it.
Tri-Valley University's supposed mission of providing "rigorous and excellent quality academic programs" is undercut by its own website. In website sections like this one, it looks suspiciously as if Tri-Valley acquired a list of buzz words and applied them indiscriminately: "Our Institution Objective is to equip individual with academic excellence, practical skillfulness and spiritual maturity."
Suspicion that Tri-Valley is more concerned about buzz words than substance is exacerbated by the list of programs. "Tri-Valley University offers Bachelor of Science (B. S.) degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE), Computer Science (BSCS), Mechanical Engineering (BSME), Business Administration (BSBA) and Nurse (BSNS)." A degree in Nurse?
Tri-Valley can't even explain its location in a comprehensible manner. Its website says, "Tri-Valley University locates minutes of taxi (emphasis added) from the Pleasanton/Dublin BART station."
One section of the Tri-Valley website describes "On-Compus" Employment." Another asserts: "At Tri-Valley University, on-site classroom is complimented with virtual live synchronous and asynchronous on-line access." Whoever wrote that sentence apparently can't distinguish "complimented" from "complemented." The author presumably wasn't one of the faculty members because, "Faculty members and speakers at Tri-Valley University are renown professionals in the field..."
A lot of website space is devoted to Tri-Valley's procedure for admitting the international applicant, discussed in the singular: " international applicant need to submit the following required document for admission application..." The plurality of international students and the university's compliance with federal law in admitting them may well be why ICE paid Tri-Valley an unwelcome visit this week.
But back to reasons why it's really the grammar police who need to pay this institution of higher education a visit...
The students at Tri-Valley apparently take their grammatical cues from their school. On a brag page highlighting Tri-Valley's best and brightest, one student is quoted as saying, '"After attend the college for an AA degree, I went straightly to work."
A graduate who started his own company in China reports back, "After 3 years of operation, the company can now run by itself very well..." This smacks of viral emails describing student essays that say things like, "He woke up dead this morning." Perhaps the secret mission of this school to produce spam writers?
As for famous alumni, Tri-Valley is apparently in a holding pattern, waiting to see if any surface: "Now you graduate, we would like to hear from you, about life and how the study at TVU and the degree do to your career, not just your million dollor donation!"
2. US immigration authorities has asked the 1,555 students of California-based Tri Valley University (TVU) contact them directly
US immigration authorities has asked the 1,555 students of California-based Tri Valley University (TVU), which has been shut down on charges of visa fraud affecting hundreds of Indians, to contact them directly to find out the options they have to pursue their studies in this country.
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken further steps to ensure (Student and Exchange Visitor Programme) SEVP-certified schools and former Tri-Valley students have the information that they need to make informed decisions in light of the ongoing investigation," its spokeswoman, Lori K Haley said.
ICE has posted an advisory on the SEVP link on ICE's website -- http://www.ice.gov/sevis/tri-valley-110118.htm -- to direct students how to contact an SEVP representative to obtain information about their options.
"When you call, SEVP will provide you with your options including the option to depart from the United States without an otherwise possibly applicable bar to re-admission in the future," says the advisory issued to the TVU students.
Lori said due to the ongoing investigation, ICE is not discussing the details related to the Tri Valley case. SEVP terminated the records of all F-1 students enrolled at TVU as of January 18, after ICE shut down TVU following an investigation.
According to a federal complaint filed in a California court in January, the University helped foreign nationals illegally acquire immigration status. The university is said to have 1,555 students. As many as 95 per cent of these students are Indian nationals, the complaint said.
Investigations by ICE found that while students were admitted to various residential and on-line courses of the university and on paper lived in California, but in reality they "illegally" worked in various parts of the country as far as Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas. ICE has called it as a "Sham University", a charge denied by the University.
The ICE investigations found that more than half of these students were reported to be residing in a single apartment located in Sunnyvale California. During the course of the investigation, ICE found that the university gave the residential address of its students in order to conceal that they did not live in California, said the court papers.
For a student to maintain an active immigration status, they must show proof that they are making reasonable process toward completing coursework and physically attend classes. According to available reports, so far 18 Tri Valley students have been radio-ankled; and at least a dozen detained in various parts of the country; while all of them have lost their student visa status.
Strongly objecting to the manner in which Indian students are being treated, Indian Embassy officials here have argued that these students need to be treated in a humane manner and should not be made a victim of the federal investigation against the Tri Valley University founder and President, Susan Su.
Earlier, John Morton, Director, US ICE, had assured the Indian Ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar, that the federal law enforcement agency would use "good judgment" and "common sense" while handling the case of hundreds of Indian students who have been affected by the closer of the California-based Tri Valley University on charges of alleged immigration scam.
Morton had called Shankar after the Indian Embassy here lodged strong protest against before it and other US agencies against the manner in which Indian students are being treated by ICE including forcing them to wear radio tags, and suspension of Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), thus preventing them from taking admissions in other colleges and universities.
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