129 Indian students arrested in US immigration fraud
INDIAN GOVERNMENT HAS REQUESTED CONSULAR ACCESS TO THE DETAINED STUDENTS, SAYING THAT THIS SHOULD BE TAKEN AS A ‘VERY HIGH PRIORITY’ CASE
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: The United States authorities had arrested 129 Indians enrolled at a fake university run by undercover agents in Detroit, Michigan to expose a “pay-to-stay” immigration fraud till Thursday and officials have said that more apprehensions can be expected.
They have been placed in “removal proceedings” — marked for deportation, in other words — and will remain in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) until the conclusion of their case by immigration courts.
US prosecutors announced Thursday the arrest of eight men of Indian descent for using the fake university, University of Farmington, to run a “pay-tostay” for foreigners to stay on student visa and work.
The institute, which touted itself as a “nationally accredited business and STEM institution”, had no instructors and ran no classes or educational activities. It has since been shut down and its website has been taken down.
It enrolled at least 600 students, officials have said.
“As of yesterday morning, ICE had administratively arrested 130 foreign nationals enrolled at the University of Farmington for civil immigration violations,” Carissa Cutrell, a spokesperson for ICE, wrote in an email. Of the 130, she added, 129 were Indian nationals.
“These individuals have been placed in removal proceedings, and ICE will seek to maintain them in its custody pending the outcome of those proceedings.”
Cutrell also said more arrests were expected.
But, she added, “Individuals who have not been issued a Notice to Appear charging immigration violations (those not arrested yet, in other words) are currently not in removal proceedings and are not required to appear before an immigration court.”
The Indian embassy in Washington DC has been in touch with US officials and has sought consular access to the arrested students.
Most of the affected are from Telengana and Andhra Pradesh and are also receiving help from community associations. One of them, American Telugu Association, has launched a webpage to help the students and organized a webinar with immigration lawyers to guide them “to be watchful with fake agents who promise illegal ways to stay in USA with admissions in unaccredited colleges”.
“The government utilized very questionable and troubling methods to get these foreign students to join the institution,” Ravi Mannam, an immigration lawyer in Atlanta, told The New York Times.
Prosecutors, however, have argued the students knew what they were getting into. The indictments unsealed Thursday said the students knew the university’s programme was not approved by the government.
The Indian government has conveyed to US authorities that a distinction should be made “between those involved in recruiting or enrolling students and students who have been duped or defrauded in the process”, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Friday.
India has also made a formal request for consular access to the detained students, emphasising that this should be taken as a “very high priority”, he said. Indian authorities are closely monitoring the situation and the US government has been informed of the need to address the situation “at the earliest”, he added.