Morning Wire Evening Wire: Student Visa Fraud Exposed & Medicaid Probe Freezes Billions | 5.13.26
10 snips
May 13, 2026 A major ICE probe into widespread student visa fraud and pay-to-stay schemes. A $1.4 billion Medicaid payment freeze after an investigative report. A DHS audit of costly detention plans and questions about procurement. Trump’s Beijing trip with tech CEOs to discuss trade and AI. A mysterious sunken ship possibly tied to nuclear shipments.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
DHS Paying Above Market For Detention Properties
- DHS Inspector General opened an audit into a $38 billion program converting warehouses to detention centers amid overpayments.
- CoStar found DHS paid 10–13% above market for about a dozen facilities after $1 billion was already spent.
OPT Program Used In Coordinated Visa Fraud
- ICE discovered coordinated fraud in the Optional Practical Training program involving thousands of foreign students.
- Agents found empty workplaces, clustered identical employer websites, and pay-to-stay schemes in Texas and Houston.
Trump Leads Tech Delegation To Beijing
- President Trump visited Beijing with top U.S. tech CEOs for talks on trade and AI.
- The delegation included Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang with Secretary of State Marco Rubio attending.