DHS Alleges Malian Deportee Featured on 60 Minutes Engaged in Immigration Fraud

The DHS seal at FBI headquarters in Washington on Aug. 4, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch TimesThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Oct. 26 that the Malian man featured in a recent CBS News “60 Minutes” report had engaged in immigration fraud.CBS News covered the case of Malian national Moussa Diawara, who was allegedly deported to Ghana by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in July. He was later transferred to Mali by Ghana’s authorities, despite a court order prohibiting his deportation to Mali due to a risk of persecution. The report was published on Oct. 25.According to the report, Diawara entered the United States on a tourist visa and overstayed. He later applied for refugee protection, claiming he could face persecution if returned to Mali because of his conversion to Christianity. Mali is a Muslim-majority nation facing an Islamist insurgency.In an interview with “60 Minutes,” Diawara said he came to the United States at age 32 and was 57 when he was deported.“I cannot call my wife; I can’t contact my lawyer. I can’t talk to no one. I tell them, ‘This is kidnapping. You guys kidnapped us,’” he said.The DHS countered the report in a social media post, alleging that Diawara had falsely claimed in his asylum application that he feared persecution in Mali because of his homosexuality.“This is immigration fraud,” the department said. “Diawara, an illegal immigrant from Mali, claimed he would be persecuted for his homosexuality if he was returned to his home country—despite being married to a woman he has two children with.”Diawara was arrested by ICE agents on July 11 under a final removal order granted by a judge in 2012, the DHS said.In a separate post responding to the CBS report, the department said Diawara was deported on July 30 to a third country that “provided diplomatic assurances for his safety.” It did not specify which country.The Epoch Times has reached out to Diawara’s lawyer for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.According to a CBS News report, Diawara lived in Texas and worked as an Uber driver. He was finishing a night shift when ICE agents arrested him on July 11. His wife and children are U.S. citizens.U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated on its website that immigrants may obtain refugee or asylum status in the United States if they faced persecution or fear future persecution “on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, and/or political opinion.”The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on illegal immigration and tightened rules on visa applications. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said on Aug. 24 that the administration was working to revoke the visas of foreign nationals who entered the United States as short-term visitors and then sought asylum.Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on Aug. 24 that the asylum system was meant to provide safe harbor for individuals fleeing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, or political opinion, but had become overwhelmed by what he said were “bogus asylum claims.”“The system has long been swamped by frivolous asylum claims, meaning that it takes years to adjudicate whether applicants are actually entitled to asylum—during which time they can typically work, have children, and otherwise put down roots in our country,” he said in a post on X.