Two Indians Arrested Over Illegal Stay in U.S.

Two Indian nationals have been arrested in the United States for allegedly staying illegally in the country. The two individuals, who were detained over the weekend, are now being processed for removal from the United States, the U.S. Border Patrol said in a statement on July 24.

The two were encountered by border patrol agents during routine immigration check operations of all passengers at a bus terminal in Spokane, Washington. On being questioned by the agents, one of the individuals presented an expired B-2 tourist visa that was issued over a year ago. The B-2 visitor visa is issued for short visits to the United States for vacation, visiting or medical treatment.

The man was taken into custody due to his expired visa. The officials then found out that the other person illegally entered the United States from Mexico in May 2011. They discovered during further investigation that he was also in possession of a fraudulent Social Security card.

Both the persons were then transported to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma to await their immigration hearing, the statement added.

“The use of fake documents, while commonly used, is often difficult to detect due to the limited amount of interaction that our agents have with the public while conducting enforcement operations at the transportation facility,” Patrol Agent in Charge Zach Crosson said in a statement.

The United States started a tough crackdown on illegal immigrants in May this year after the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” policy that allows prosecution of those who enter the country illegally. About 100 Indians have been lodged in jails in Oregon and New Mexico after they were caught over accusations of crossing over to the United States without proper documents.

At least 52 individuals from India, mostly Sikhs from Punjab, were housed at Oregon’s Sheridan federal prison in Yamhill County after they tried to enter the country to seek asylum. Over 42 other Indians are held at the Otero County Detention Center in New Mexico over similar allegations.

However, while the U.S. administration is increasingly focusing on fortifying its border with Mexico to prevent illegal migration, concerns are now also arising over the number of foreigners crossing over illegally from the country’s northern border with Canada, the Associated Press reported. In 480-km long border with New York, Vermont and New Hampshire, American border patrol agents have caught 324 people who crossed illegally from Canada so far this fiscal year, as compared to 165 in 2017, the report said, adding that last month, 85 people were apprehended across the three states, compared with 17 in June 2017 and 19 in June 2016.