Increase in Indians coming to US illegally, seeking asylum: report
The number of Indians crossing into the United States from neighboring Mexico and seeking asylum has been increasing in the recent years, a media report has claimed. Indian citizens are among thousands of migrants from Haiti, Africa, and Asia who are trekking across Latin America through travel routes forged by Latino immigrants, The Los Angeles Times reported. Here's more.
40% of detainees at ICE's Imperial Valley facility are Indians
About 380 of the 680 migrants at the Victorville federal prison in California, in August so far, were Indian nationals, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The detainees were sent there as civil rather than criminal detainees pending the outcome of their immigration cases. In addition, about 40% of the detainees at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Imperial Valley facility are from India.
4,000+ illegal immigrants arrested by border patrol agents this year
Nearly 20% of the detainees at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Adelanto processing center are Indians. The report also cited data from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse which said that so far during the 2018 fiscal year, 4,197 of those arrested by Border Patrol agents have been Indian nationals and many have seen their asylum claims denied.
Escaping political, religious persecution, most common reason for seeking asylum
The report said that detainees from India have cited an increase in political and religious persecution as their reasons for seeking asylum, according to the US Customs and Border Protection.
Unable to practice religion, say Sikhs at detention center
An immigrant from Punjab said he spent two months inside the Imperial Valley center, where he said that he was not allowed to wear the turban and bracelet many Sikhs wear as part of their faith. Hindus housed in the same facility were forced to eat meat for more than two weeks, despite their religious beliefs, he said in the report.
We provide free turban, vegetarian diet on request: Detention facility
Management and Training Corp, the company that operates the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, said, "We provide turbans to the detainees free of charge when they are requested." The company said that the detention center's menu is approved by a dietician according to the national standards and if the detainees request, they are also provided with a vegetarian diet.
