Jalandhar: The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department arrested 8,447 Persons of Indian Origin, including 422 women, from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019. They were arrested and detained in different US prisons for violation of immigration laws.

1,612 deported 

• Of the arrested and detained Persons of Indian Origin, the US has deported 1,612 Indians, including 76 women, from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019, for violations of immigration laws.

Satnam Singh Chahal, Executive Director, North American Punjabi Association, shared the information today after receiving it from the department under the Freedom of Information Act. Of the arrested and detained Persons of Indian Origin, the US has deported 1,612 Indians, including 76 women, during the same year for violations of immigration laws.

This was the highest number of Indians deported by the US during the last six years. Chahal said in 2014, 2,306 Indians were arrested and of these, 359 were deported. Similarly, in the 2015, 2,971 Indians were arrested and 311 were deported.

He said although there was no record of deported persons of Punjab, it was believed that most were from the region. He said growing number of Indian-origin illegal migrants were a serious matter of concern. “Illegal immigrants move through Mexico, Arizona and Texas states of United States. These undocumented Persons of Indian Origin were hoping to reach the US after expensive, arduous and often dangerous journeys that could take months or even years,” he added.

tribuneindia.com, Feb 7, 2020