60 Indians held in New Mexico state
An Indian diplomat who visited a detention facility in New Mexico state has discovered that there are at least 60 Indian nationals who have been apprehended for entering the US illegally.
Earlier reports had suggested that the number of Indians at the centre was closer to 40, and that they had sought asylum alleging religious persecution in India.
Indian officials said the detainees at this centre have been in US custody since September 2017 and were apprehended during or after crossing over into the US in Arizona and California states. They are said to be mostly from Punjab and Haryana.
US immigration and customs enforcement, which runs these detention facilities, has not responded to questions about the detainees and it was not immediately clear if they are being held for deportation or to process their asylum request.
There are an additional 52 at a detention facility in Oregon state, bringing the publiclyknown number of Indians in custody across the US to at least 112.
The detainees in Oregon — who have described themselves as Sikhs and Christians — are being processed for deportation, a lawyer for the US justice department said during a court hearing on Monday.
Police chiefs from across the US, both Republicans and Democrats, on Wednesday urged the White House to find alternatives to detention of immigrant families given the risks it poses to children and its huge cost.
In a joint letter, more than 45 law enforcement heads appealed to
Trump to consider other possibilities than incarceration, such as requiring heads of households to wear GPS ankle bracelets or receive periodic telephone checks.
The geographic and political diversity of the signatories showed their apprehension at locking up migrant families at a time when US law enforcement is trying to gain the trust of immigrant communities.
Trump issued an order on Wednesday to scrap his policy of separating children from parents caught entering the US illegally.
But under the order, families would be detained together for the duration of immigration proceedings, which can take months or years to complete.
WASHINGTON: REUTERS: