45 more Indians held in US over illegal entry
WASHINGTON : Up to 45 more Indians are being held for allegedly entering the United States illegally, taking the total number of such detainees from India to nearly 100. The new group is being held at a federal detention centre at Otero in New Mexico state.
WASHINGTON: Up to 45 more Indians are being held for allegedly entering the United States illegally, taking the total number of such detainees from India to nearly 100.
The new group is being held at a federal detention centre at Otero in New Mexico state.
There wasn’t much information available about them, and a response was awaited from the US agency that apprehends illegal migrants to questions about the exact number in this group, where they are from in India and how long they have been in custody.
The Indian embassy in Washington confirmed Indians were being held at the Otero facility and said the number given by US authorities was “40 to 45”. An official from the Indian consulate in Houston is scheduled to visit the detainees on Tuesday.
Another group of 52 people from India, many of them identified in reports as Punjabi and Hindi speakers, has been held in a federal detention facility at Sheridan in Oregon state for some weeks after illegally entering the US through the Mexican border.
The total number of Indians currently in US custody for illegally entering the country is close to 100. It could be higher as more instances, such as the one on Thursday, come to be known, experts said.
There is no readily available count of the number of Indians being held across the US for illegally entering the country. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said the organisation did not have the numbers and a wider search is required.
These numbers might look like a surge given the Trump administration’s stated aim of curbing illegal immigration, with the recent emphasis on a “zero tolerance” policy. But there has been a steady flow of people from certain parts of India for many years, some of whom seek asylum alleging persecution at home.
The new group of Indian detainees came to light on Thursday, a day after President Donald Trump ordered an end to his administration’s controversial practice of separating children from families illegally crossing over as part of the zero tolerance crackdown on illegal migrants.
The policy change will not impact those from India, as most of them came here alone and were without their families when apprehended, unlike migrants from other countries.