TWO INDIANS HELD FOR ENTERING U.S. FROM MEXICO

Two Indian nationals were among 19 people arrested on Monday by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they illegally crossed into the country from Mexico.

CBP said the 19 were on a on a panga-style boat, which was spotted entering US waters from Mexico on Sunday night by a US border patrol aerial surveillance aircraft. The US Coast Guard intercepted the boat 24 km of the coast of Point Loma, California.

Those apprehended also included two smugglers and 15 Mexican nationals. CBP said the smugglers may face human smuggling charges.

Indians are among the fastest growing groups of people crossing illegally into the United States — this fiscal year, 4,197 Indians were arrested by border patrol agents, according to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, sourced by the Los Angeles Times.

The journey from India takes months and traverses through multiple countries, with the last few miles from Mexico into the US covered on foot, vehicles or as in the Monday arrest, on boat. It’s a well organized human smuggling network and can cost upward of Rs 25 lakh per person, with no guarantees.

The number of Indians illegally in the United States was 430,000 in 2014, according to the department of homeland security. A large number of them came on temporary visas and overstayed.