97000 Indians arrested in US, maximum number of people from Gujarat and Punjab tried to enter the country illegally

Washington: A record 96,917 Indians were arrested while entering the US illegally between October 2022 and September 2023, according to the latest US Customs and Border Protection (UCBP) data. Recent years have seen a five-fold increase in the number of such infiltrations, especially through dangerous routes, despite the tragic loss of life and property.

19,883 Indians were arrested in 2019-20. According to the data, 30,662 Indians were arrested in 2020-21 while the number was 63,927 in 2021-22. Of the 96,917 Indians arrested between October 2022 and September this year, 30,010 were caught at the Canadian border and 41,770 at the Mexican border.

Those arrested have been classified under four categories – unaccompanied minors (AM), persons in a family unit (FMUA), single adults and unaccompanied children (UC). Single adults form the largest category. 84,000 Indian adults entered the US illegally in fiscal year 2023. 730 unaccompanied minors were also among those arrested.

According to TOI report, a Gujarat police officer said Law enforcement agencies say these figures represent only reported cases, and the actual number is likely much higher. “This is only a tip of the iceberg. For every person caught at the border, there may be at least 10 others who have successfully crossed into the US.

Many of those who took the dangerous path are from the state. “These are mainly people from Gujarat and Punjab who aspire to settle in the US,” said a Gujarat Police officer investigating the illegal immigration racket.

the officer said One of the most serious cases was that of Brijkumar Yadav, a resident of Gandhinagar, who attempted to enter the US by crossing Trump’s wall in December 2022. Tragically, he collapsed in the Mexican part of Tijuana while holding his child and lost his life. His wife, Pooja, fell 30 feet at the US border in San Diego. As a result, their three-year-old child was placed in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

How do Indians reach the US border?

According to Senator James Lankford, these people take about four flights, including to countries like France, to reach Mexico, the nearest airport, and then take a bus rented by the cartel to the border so that they can be released for the last time. Distribution. “So they can say, I’m afraid in my country,” Lankford said.

“So far this year we have had 45,000 people come from India who have crossed our southern border, paid off the cartels, come into our country and said they are afraid of India in their country,” Lankford said. Seems like.”

Lankford repeated his point several times that criminal gangs in Mexico are training migrants from around the world on what to say and where to go in order to “game” the asylum process and gain entry into the country while awaiting asylum hearings. To be. Lankford said asylum is similar to refugee status. It is the same in international law. A refugee runs away scared and goes to a refugee center and says to the United Nations, ‘I have a dramatic fear of persecution in my own country,’ and if they do that, they really do it to the whole world, including here. Let’s share in.

They said “We take refugees here from all over the world. Asylum seekers are held to the same standards. They have to move to the next safe place, reach there and request asylum. This is the international standard, but we don’t do it here.