‘ 60K Indians held at US- Mexico border’

■ Of those detained, over 90 percent are Punjabis: Manish Tiwari

Ludhiana, July 21: Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Manish Tewari on Saturday claimed that thousands of Indian youths, a substantial number of them from Punjab, may be detained at the detention camps along the US- Mexico border.

He said he had personally visited the border area during his recent US visit and was alarmed by the situation there.

Addressing a party workers’ meeting organised by Punjab Congress secretary Satwinder Jawaddi here, Tewari said that he was told during his visit that 60,000 Indians, who had tried to sneak illegally into the US through Mexico, had been detained by the US authorities.

“Of these, over 90 percent are Punjabis,” he added.

Expressing concern over the plight of these stranded youth, Tewari said their release has to be dealt at the level of the ministry external affairs and he had already raised the matter.

He added that Punjab also needed to create job avenues for the youth.

Speaking about the Congress’ prospects for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the former Ludhiana MP said that the “countdown” of the NDA government had started.

“Their despair and frustration were revealed during the Prime Minister’s speech in the Parliament during the no- confidence motion,” he said.

“The NDA may have won the confidence of the House, but it has actually lost the confidence of people across India,” he added

Tewari asserted that after the general elections next year, a “progressive and secular” government will be in power at the Centre.

According to media reports, Indians have arrived in droves in recent years even as the overall number of illegal immigrants entering the US has dropped dramatically, in large part because of the sluggish American economy. And with fewer Mexicans and Central Americans crossing the border.

Indians caught by US authorities often claim they fled their homeland because of religious persecution. Then they wait for months in federal detention centers like Port Isabel, in the town of Los Fresnos, about an hour’s drive from the TexasMexico border.

I was told during a visit that 60,000 Indians, who had tried to sneak illegally into the US through Mexico, had been detained by the US authorities — Manish Tiwari, Cong leader