Crime
Nearly 2400 Indians in U.S. Jails for Crossing Border Illegally: Report
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A significant number of those jailed are from Punjab, who are seeking asylum in the country claiming that they are victims of violence or persecution in India.
About 2,832 Indians are lodged in various American jails for illegally crossing the country’s border to seek asylum in the country, according to reports.
A significant number of those jailed are from Punjab, who are seeking asylum in the country claiming to be victims of violence or persecution in India, PTI reported.
The news agency quoted figures released by the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) which obtained the details through Freedom of Information Act.
About 377 Indian nationals have been detained at California’s Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Processing Center, 269 at Imperial Regional Adult Detention Facility, 245 at the Federal Correctional Institution Victorville, and 115 at Washington State’s Tacoma ICE Processing Center, the news agency wrote in its report.
“Most of the detainees at the federal facilities are asking for asylum claiming that they ‘experienced violence or persecution’ in their home country,” NAPA President Satnam S Chahal told the news agency. “This is a matter of serious concern that thousands of Indians, with an overwhelming majority of them being from Punjab, are languishing in jails in the U.S.”
Chahal told the news agency that that a network of human traffickers and officials in Punjab is encouraging young Punjabis to leave their homes to illegally enter the U.S. and take Rs 35-50 lakhs from each individual.
Chahal told the news agency that human trafficking is a criminal act which affects the global community and Punjabis are too victims of this episode.
“The Punjabi enthusiasm to migrate to affluent countries in search of greener pastures has given the traffickers to exploit them,” Chahal told the agency. “Failure to reach their promised destination leads to deportation, exploitation, indebtedness, imprisonment and even death.”
The Punjab government has passed several human trafficking laws in recent years and the NAPA has asked the state government to strictly enforce those laws to prevent more people from Punjab falling victim to trafficking.