Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts announced the arrests of 15 people, including 11 suspected illegal immigrants, accused of collectively stealing more than $1.4 million from taxpayer-funded benefit programs in what officials described as the opening phase of a broader fraud enforcement campaign.

The charges, unveiled Thursday by U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office in Boston, span a range of alleged schemes involving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, MassHealth, Social Security disability payments, housing assistance, unemployment benefits, identity theft, and visa fraud. The enforcement action comes as the Justice Department intensifies scrutiny of fraud involving public assistance programs under the Trump administration.