collateral damage in the sting operation, duped by both the brokers and the government." The students said that they had been deceived by the government through "in-person meetings with the university's supposed president, letters confirming they could work instead of go to class, and Twitter messages about classes canceled because of bad weather." Rachael Merola, a senior researcher at the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, said that the U.S. government's establishment of a fake university was a "novel strategy" in combating student visa fraud. Merola said that the strategy was highly effective but would likely not be replicated in the future, stating: "If anything, the massive amount of coverage that this got would sound an alarm and might act as a deterrent in the future to unscrupulous agents and sham universities." Ultimately, the scheme was replicated a mere two years later with the equally fictitious University of Farmington. Class Action Litigation and Settlement On May 3, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted final approval to a class-action settlement for all students who enrolled in UNNJ for any length of time, plus their spouses and children. The settlement reverses many of the immigration-related harms suffered by members of the class. The settlement follows a decision by a federal appeals court that the students had a right to judicial review of the Government's decision to terminate their student status and take other adverse immigration action against them. See also Reagan National University University of Farmington Entrapment Notes References Fictional universities and colleges Confidence tricks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Education scandals Law enforcement operations in the United States 2013 in the United States