6 Sikh migrants released from Sheridan federal prison in US
CHANDIGARH:SIX undocumented Sikh men from Punjab, who had a harrowing experience after being detained in a federal detention centre (FDC) in Oregon since June for entering the United States from the Mexico border, walked free on August 20 and 21.
They were part of the 52 Indians, mostly Sikhs, detained at Sheridan facility for being part of a large contingent of illegal immigrants seeking asylum in the United States citing political persecution.
Five of them — Karandeep Singh, Lovepreet Singh, Harjinder Singh, Kanwarjeet Singh and Lovepreet Singh-2 — were released on August 21 evening on immigration bonds, having cleared their credible fear interview.
The Sikh detainees were interviewed by an asylum officer to ascertain whether they suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, affiliation to a particular social group and political opinion.
Development director at Innovation Law Lab Victoria Bejarano Muirhead said typically an immigration bond costs US $1,500 (around ₹1 lakh) or more. Many of the bonds issued by Portland immigration court have been in the range of US $1,500-5,000, she said. Muirhead said family members and friends of many of the detainees didn’t have enough money to post a bond. “The immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) has the authority to release them based on personal recognisance. In that case, the detainee is not required to pay for the bond. Unfortunately, the ICE has not yet responded to such requests for release of detainees,” she said.
The five Sikhs are now headed to different destinations in the US to get united with their extended families and friends. Some of them are going to Maryland, Georgia, New York and California. They can pursue their asylum case in an immigration
court in the US.
The five made a public appearance at a press conference organised by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Oregon, and Innovation Law Lab in Portland who provided pro bono (done for the public good without compensation) legal support to the detainees.
Programme manager at Innovation Law Lab Katy Mitchell said at the press conference that the first Indian asylum seeker who walked out on August 20 from the FDC got on his knees, kissed the ground and asked: “is this real?”
One of the Sikh asylum seekers, Karandeep Singh, described his release as some dream. Karandeep alleged that he was targeted by the dominant political party in India because of his activism.
He, however, did not blame the prison officials for the difficult times in detention. “They didn’t know about our culture and our religious values. They did not know how Sikhs would pray. After the federal public defender intervened, the prison authorities allowed us to wear headgear and pray in an appropriate manner,” Karandeep said.
Another asylum seeker Lovepreet said time in the prison taught them discipline. “Walking out of it still does not look real,” he said, adding that the pro bono lawyers from the Innovation Law Lab and the office of the Oregon Federal Public Defender were the reason why they were out of the prison today.
Muirhead said that first Indian released on Monday was immediately united with his family in the US. She, however, did not reveal his identity as the asylum seeker has not given his consent.
Attorneys representing the Indian detainees had said that many detainees interviewed by the San Francisco asylum office had told officials that “they were being persecuted because of their political opinion and affiliations”.
Lawyers representing the Indian detainees had said a common theme that emerged from the credible fear interview was “political persecution” which also has a religious component.