Jalandhar: The US has deported 929 Indians, including 42 women, during the first seven months of this year for violations of immigration laws.

Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of the North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), shared this information today after getting it from the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement Department under the Freedom of information Act.

Chahal said the number was highest in last few years. In the financial year 2014 (October 1 to September 30), only 87 Indians were deported. Similarly in FY 2015, 202 men and 22 women of Indian origin were sent back. Only 102 men and one woman were deported in FY 2016, nearly 343 men and 15 women in FY 2017 and 323 men and 18 women in FY 2018.https://80789c4a41d8bb51607dc818a145a993.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Chahal said although there was no record of deported persons of Punjab, but it was believed that most were from the region.

He said growing number of Indian-origin illegal migrants were moving through Mexico, Arizona and Texas. 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.

He further said for the past 15 years, the fast-track deportation process, known as expedited removal, had been used mostly by border patrol agents. Now, for the first time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can unilaterally question, arrest, detain and deport undocumented immigrants in the US.

Chahal further said from 2001-2008, during the presidency of George W Bush, about 2 million people were deported from the US. The number stood at 2.9 million during the tenure of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2016.https://80789c4a41d8bb51607dc818a145a993.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Chahal said deportations had been lower during the term of President Donald Trump than Obama years. Though Trump has made a crackdown on immigration a centerpiece of his first term, his administration lags behind President Obama’s pace of deportations.

tribuneindia.com, Dec 24, 2019