A Sunrise woman has been arraigned on federal charges related to the submission of a fraudulent asylum application, authorities announced this week.
Andrea C. Correa, 37, is accused of violating 18 U.S.C. §1546(a), which criminalizes the presentation of immigration documents containing false statements. Prosecutors allege that Correa prepared and mailed an asylum application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that falsely claimed the applicant had been subjected to personal political persecution. According to court filings, the applicant had explicitly informed Correa that no such persecution had occurred.
Correa, who has reportedly prepared more than 1,000 asylum applications since 2013, now faces serious legal consequences. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. However, her final sentence will be determined by the court following consideration of federal sentencing guidelines.
The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, and Miami Asylum Office Director Varsenik Papazian of USCIS.
The investigation was conducted by HSI’s West Palm Beach office in collaboration with the USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate’s Miami Asylum Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Sadlo.
Authorities continue to emphasize the importance of integrity in the asylum process and urge individuals to report suspected fraudulent activity to law enforcement agencies. Correa’s arrest comes amid a broader federal crackdown on immigration fraud and efforts to curb the influx of illegal migrants through fraudulent asylum claims. The Biden administration has increased scrutiny on asylum applications and ramped up enforcement measures to prevent abuse of the system.
